The Texans defeat might be hard one to swallow, but you might want to wait on icing your wounds. A Winter Storm Watch in Houston will be in effect from 6 pm on Monday to 6 pm Tuesday with a possibility of “heavy” mixed winter precipitation up to 5 inches.
Just a couple weeks after Houston was hit with a cold front, the city is in for another cold spell. Presently, a Cold Weather Advisory is in effect until noon on Monday. Later that evening, A Winter Storm Watch will go in effect for 24 hours beginning at 6 pm Monday with the possibility for up to 5 inches of snow and sleet – potentially higher amounts locally. The weather service also predicts accumulations of ice up to a tenth to an inch.
As far as what that wintry precipitation will entail, Space City Weather believes that snow is the most likely, with a chance of sleet. The weather service predicts that freezing temperatures will remain for a large part of Tuesday and into Wednesday morning where Houston will face the coldest temperatures of the week (lower 20s).
“Virtually the entire metro area aside from the coast, is likely to experience a hard freeze“.
During which time, the National Weather Service expects hazardous road conditions, because of which, it strongly advises against traveling unless absolutely necessary. For those that must travel, the weather organization recommends making sure the vehicle is winterized and taking extreme caution when driving.
With extreme cold weather forecasted and winter precipitation, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has also issued a Weather Watch in effect from Monday, January 20, to Wednesday, January 23. ERCOT expects higher electrical demand with a potential for lower reserves but nonetheless predicts that grid conditions will be normal.
Forecasters predict that temperatures will climb on Thursday into the upper 40s followed by a mild weekend.
See also: 10 restaurants serving sensational soup in Houston this winter