HOUSTON – Our arctic chill is not over as more polar air could be spilling into Southeast Texas as soon as next week. In fact, February is usually Houston's coldest month of the year.
Bitterly cold air recently helped produce icy commutes within five days of each other.
Since 1965, we have had six ice storms in Houston. There's a good chance we could get hit again, since we are just days away from our historically coldest month.
"The door is open meteorologically for cold air to move south from the pole," said Lance Wood with the National Weather Service Houston-Galveston Office.
For two mornings in a row during February 1899, lows tumbled to a mere 6 degrees in Houston. Galveston sank to a low of 6 degrees, bringing icy consequences to the bay.
"It froze the bay," said Bill Read, member of the Local 2 Severe Weather Team and former director of the National Hurricane Center. "So February can still have some very brutal weather in our area."
We also saw record snowfall in Houston. More than 20 inches fell between Feb. 12-13 in 1895.
"As long as we are in this weather pattern driving that air out of Canada, we are prone to getting big Arctic air breaks," said Read.
Long-range forecasting can be a gamble, but we are still in winter, and a sure bet is to keep your coat handy.