‘Tired’ of cold weather?

Pressure lower in cold weather! Pic courtesy pixabay.com

Look at those morning lows! Talk about fall falling, we’re waking up today to temperatures in the 30s and 40s!

30s and 40s for Southeast Texas!

Recommended Videos



Those kind of numbers are quite the relief from summer’s heat, but you may be noticing the old yellow warning light coming on in your car today! That PSI warning for your tires refers to the air pressure inside the tire measured by “per square inch” and usually that is in the upper 30s or low 40s (kind of like today’s temps!).

So what happens? Pretty simple -- hot air expands and cold air contracts, including the air inside your tires. So on a day like today that cold air in your tires contracts so that the pressure drops. In fact, for every 10° drop in temperatures, the pressure can drop one to two pounds per square inch! Considering we were 90° on Sunday and are 40° today, that could in a worst-case scenario drop your air pressure by 10 pounds! And the problem with best-case scenario is that with a drop of only three to five pounds PSI, you might not get that warning light, yet you still have underinflated tires. But you get no warning!

That’s important because underinflated tires can be dangerous. According to Cars.com and the Rubber Manufacturers Association, underinflated tires can lead to tire failure. Low tire pressure results in added tire stress and irregular wear, which the agency cautions could lead to a loss of control and accidents. And looks are deceiving. “A tire can lose up to half of its air pressure and not appear to be flat,” the Rubber Manufacturers Association said in a statement.

The best thing to do is simply check the tire air pressure and make sure it’s up to the recommended PSI, which is usually found on a sticker in the door panel or in the owner’s manual. You can read more from Cars.com right here.

In the meantime, hopes are NOT underinflated as our Boys of Summer head into another round of the playoffs with the Yankees. The forecast for winning weather looks ASTRO-LUTELY FABULOUS!

Winning weather today!

And Thursday weather looks like a home run for Game 2!

Go Astros!! We’ll never ‘tire’ of cheering you on...despite the pressure!

Frank

Email me and follow me on Facebook!


About the Authors:

KPRC 2's chief meteorologist with four decades of experience forecasting Houston's weather.