Warm start to the week…cooldown end of week

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Plenty of changes on the way this week, with a warm up, a cool down, and a good chance for rain. Monday is starting off cloudy with low temperatures in the upper 40s and low 50s, and will gradually warm to around 70 degrees this afternoon. That warmer than average weather will continue through midweek before a front knocks down temperatures for the latter half of the week and weekend.

What can we expect as we start the work week?

We’ll start the week with southerly winds and a pronounced warming trend, high temperatures will be in the 70s on Monday and Tuesday. An isolated shower or two will be possible Monday but most of us will stay dry. Tuesday will bring in a 20% chance of rain. Patchy fog will also be possible as we head into the work week.

Is it true that an arctic cold front could reach us next week?

We expect another cold front to reach us in the middle of the week, and yes, it is looking more likely that Arctic air will eventually blow in behind it. If the arctic high pressure does move straight south down the Plains, our coldest weather would likely occur right around Valentine’s Day weekend. We are forecasting highs in the 50s Friday through Valentine’s Day with at least one morning with freezing temperatures. A hard freeze is possible in parts of the area but not in our forecast at this time. A hard freeze occurs when temperatures reach 24 degrees or colder for at least two hours, putting pipes in jeopardy of freezing up and even bursting. If you are a gardener, hold off on putting any plants into the ground, and if you’ve already planted cold sensitive plants, be prepared to protect them next week.

Does this mean we could get snow?

It is possible that moisture and cold air aloft could overlap at just the right time to bring wintry precipitation to Southeast Texas, but at this time the chance of that occurring is less than 20%. In other words, don’t get your hopes up just yet. Freezing rain, ice, and snow are all possible types of wintry precipitation we could experience, but again, the chances are low this many days out. If our confidence grows in the intensity of the cold air overlapping with moisture, these chances could go up, so stay tuned!