HOUSTON – Consider Tuesday the calm before the storm. The storm, in this case, is the coldest air of the season to invade the Houston area.
Tuesday afternoon temperatures in the 60s are long gone as a prolonged cold spell takes over.
A Hard Freeze Watch is in effect for Thursday morning from Burleson, Brazos, Grimes, Walker, San Jacinto and Polk counties to the north.
The cold air will take a little time to filter into the area. Overnight low temperatures Tuesday night will be slightly cool, in the low 40s. We will begin to feel the brunt of the cold by Wednesday afternoon as a north wind picks up and the arctic front slides through. Highs on Wednesday be in the low 50s.
The front will come near midday before the mercury begins to drop early afternoon. Expect temperatures to be in the 40s through Wednesday afternoon with wind chill temperatures in the 30s. The north wind will pick up to as high as 30 miles per hour Wednesday night, dropping the wind chill into the teens and 20s throughout the region.
By Thursday morning temperatures will be near 20 degrees in the Hard Freeze Watch area. Wind chill temperatures will be between 10 and 20 degrees, so get your very warmest winter clothes ready. In Houston temperatures will be slightly warmer, in the mid to upper 20s with wind chill readings in the upper teens. At the coast, temperatures will likely fall below freezing, in the low 30s, for at least a couple of hours Thursday morning. Wind chill reading at the coast will be in the 20s.
After a brief rebound in temperatures Thursday afternoon, another shot of cold air works into the area on Friday, lasting through the weekend and into next week. Morning temperatures will be slightly above freezing in Houston with afternoon highs in the 30s and 40s. Expect cold rain to move in as early as Friday, lasting through the weekend.