HOUSTON – A storm system was behind Monday's winter-like punch. For the next few days, the only way to get around is armed with an umbrella and layers of clothes.
It's cold. It's wet. It's miserable. That is how Jamahl Martin described Monday's weather.
His few words pretty much summed up the day as very cold rain spread across the region.
The rain and wind combined to keep our feels like temperatures in the 30 degree range.
"It feels horrible," exclaimed Endel, a student walking to school. "Especially being a Houstonian. I am not used to the cold."
At Home Depot in southwest Houston, the shelves were fully stocked with space heaters Friday. Over the weekend, the heaters sold quickly. Workers said they had to keep restocking their supplies daily.
In downtown Houston, there wasn't much of a lunch rush. The sidewalks were easy to maneuver, and no one dared to eat on the patio.
Construction workers had to get creative to protect themselves from the biting cold by wearing surgical masks to cover their face and rags to cover their ears.
Also fighting the cold were students at the College of Mainland in Texas City. The school's boiler system failed leaving the main campus without heat Monday, but classes went on as scheduled.
According to the college's website, students were encouraged to "dress accordingly."
At first, the school announced the repairs would go into Tuesday. Fortunately, workers were able to repair the cracked line to the boiler quickly, according to the school's president.
That was surely a huge relief since the cold weather pattern is set to continue through Thanksgiving.
On the roads, the on-again/off-again rain kept the highways wet. It looks like it will be a messy Tuesday commute as more rain is in the forecast. A dry up is expected for Wednesday.