The Official Texas Snow Thread...

[Johnny]

jschlitz, It sounds like you know your Palm Trees huh?

[Portastorm]

Just looking at the daily maxes for Corpus for January 1978 and I guess taking the warm now for Christmas is a good trade off if the pattern flips to one similar back then. I will definately run out of firewood if it happens!

Hey CC, where did you find the Corpus climate data? I can't find anything for Austin that doesn't cost $$$ to view online.

[cctxhurricanewatcher]

Just looking at the daily maxes for Corpus for January 1978 and I guess taking the warm now for Christmas is a good trade off if the pattern flips to one similar back then. I will definately run out of firewood if it happens!

Hey CC, where did you find the Corpus climate data? I can't find anything for Austin that doesn't cost $$$ to view online.

The NWS Corpus site has the data for the Coastal Bend reporting stations. I think it depends on each office if they want to link up old data.

[cctxhurricanewatcher]

I remember New Years of 78 was a Major Ice Storm here in NTX. Lots of babies were born come Sept of that year. Lots of Ice and major cold in Jan of that year. I was in Jr. High and we had lots of snow days that year.
So when you say '78 I think of ice. Would love cold and snow but no ice PLEEEZE!!!

Was that the year of the infamous Norte Dame/UH Cotton Bowl when Joe Montana made his presence known? I recall it was cold as all get out.

[Portastorm]

Just looking at the daily maxes for Corpus for January 1978 and I guess taking the warm now for Christmas is a good trade off if the pattern flips to one similar back then. I will definately run out of firewood if it happens!

Hey CC, where did you find the Corpus climate data? I can't find anything for Austin that doesn't cost $$$ to view online.

The NWS Corpus site has the data for the Coastal Bend reporting stations. I think it depends on each office if they want to link up old data.

Thanks!

I found ours on the EWX site, climate section. Looks pretty cold but more of a constantly 20-30 below normal and not so much bitterly cold ... for Jan. 1978 that is. Early in Jan. 1978 there were several days with highs in the 70s and even one day at 80 ... then the bottom fell out for the rest of the month!

[jasons2k]

jschlitz, It sounds like you know your Palm Trees huh?

That's my other big hobby One reason why I was glad to move from Dallas to Houston. I'm originally from Florida.

It's also why I cringe when I see arctic air headed for Texas. Didn't bother me in Dallas b/c for the most part, there weren't any palm trees to kill or worry about.

[jasons2k]

I remember New Years of 78 was a Major Ice Storm here in NTX. Lots of babies were born come Sept of that year. Lots of Ice and major cold in Jan of that year. I was in Jr. High and we had lots of snow days that year.
So when you say '78 I think of ice. Would love cold and snow but no ice PLEEEZE!!!

Was that the year of the infamous Norte Dame/UH Cotton Bowl when Joe Montana made his presence known? I recall it was cold as all get out.

Yep, that was it. My Dad lived in Houston at the time but went to the Cotton Bowl. I-45 was shut down and it took him over 12 hours to get home taking the back roads.

[vbhoutex]

I remember New Years of 78 was a Major Ice Storm here in NTX. Lots of babies were born come Sept of that year. Lots of Ice and major cold in Jan of that year. I was in Jr. High and we had lots of snow days that year.
So when you say '78 I think of ice. Would love cold and snow but no ice PLEEEZE!!!

Was that the year of the infamous Norte Dame/UH Cotton Bowl when Joe Montana made his presence known? I recall it was cold as all get out.

Yep, that was it. My Dad lived in Houston at the time but went to the Cotton Bowl. I-45 was shut down and it took him over 12 hours to get home taking the back roads.

I remeber that all too well!! My wife was pregnant with our first child and it was colder than anything a human should have to deal with!!! Your dad should have stayed on the main roads. It only took us 10 hours to get back to Houston. It was snowing all the way from Dallas into Houston, but it wasn't heavy snow thankfully. 4 of those hours were spent just outside of Corsicana as everyone tried to negotiate a long steep hill. IT WAS NOT FUN!!!

[TexasStooge]

Code: Select all

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
435 AM CST MON DEC 19 2005

TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-211200-
MONTAGUE-COOKE-GRAYSON-FANNIN-LAMAR-YOUNG-JACK-WISE-DENTON-COLLIN-
HUNT-DELTA-HOPKINS-STEPHENS-PALO PINTO-PARKER-TARRANT-DALLAS-
ROCKWALL-KAUFMAN-VAN ZANDT-RAINS-EASTLAND-ERATH-HOOD-SOMERVELL-
JOHNSON-ELLIS-HENDERSON-COMANCHE-MILLS-HAMILTON-BOSQUE-HILL-
NAVARRO-FREESTONE-ANDERSON-LAMPASAS-CORYELL-BELL-MCLENNAN-FALLS-
LIMESTONE-LEON-MILAM-ROBERTSON-
435 AM CST MON DEC 19 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...
AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WILL AFFECT NORTH TEXAS TODAY...
BRINGING A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW TO AREAS NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM
BRECKENRIDGE...TO DENTON...TO PARIS. NO SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS
ARE EXPECTED.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH NEXT MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED.

[jasons2k]

For those that believe that JB never acknowledges his errors, here is yet another one from last night's column:

"In terms of the large scale, this weeks storm ideas were a farce, the others, I have no trouble in defending. I can't do anything about calls 7-10 days out where it doesn't snow in someone's back yard...including mine if 75% of the area where 5 day forecasts had no mention of anything beyond showers or flurries get heavy snow or ice events. I can feel bad about pre Christmas blizzards that turn into sunny and cold. So rest assure I am aware of that error"

[Extremeweatherguy]

still looks like cold will return after a brief christmas warm-up. By warm-up though, it never gets that "warm". Instead, we will may be reach 65-70 here in Houston during the warmest days. By the week after christmas highs will be back down into the 40s and 50s, and more arctic outbreaks will need to be watched for the possibility of wintry weather in the Gulf coast region. I have a strong gut feeling that Houston will see some kind of true wintry weather (not just a brief rain/sleet mix) by the end of this winter. we will see... but overall I feel that this winter will not be the above avg. temperature winter that was originally forecast. Here in NW Houston, December has already been 5 degrees below normal.

[f5]

i'm still waiting on the Bastardi blizzard, now where is it Mr.Bastardi?

[jasons2k]

i'm still waiting on the Bastardi blizzard, now where is it Mr.Bastardi?

Please see above (previous page). I have posted some rather extensive quotes from JB on this. He also acknowledges again (just 2 posts up) this week's forecast was a bust.

[gboudx]

Well, Tuesday came and went and we got some much needed rain. Had the cold air been in place like the models were suggesting early last week, we probably would have 1-2" of snow. But, I'll take the rain.

[Portastorm]

Well, Tuesday came and went and we got some much needed rain. Had the cold air been in place like the models were suggesting early last week, we probably would have 1-2" of snow. But, I'll take the rain.

"Rain" ... what's that?

[gboudx]

Well, Tuesday came and went and we got some much needed rain. Had the cold air been in place like the models were suggesting early last week, we probably would have 1-2" of snow. But, I'll take the rain.

"Rain" ... what's that?

I had almost forgotten about it too. But, you'll know it when you see it. It's like riding a bicycle, you never really forget.

[richtrav]

I was just checking and Houston had 6 days in a row of record low max temperatures. They were all highs of 36 or below, the lowest being on the 20th with a high of 29, and the 21st with a high of 30.

If that were to happen this year, it would be devastating for garden enthusiasts and the landscaping industry.

The majority of palm species would be killed, except hardy varieties such as Sabal Palms, Mexican Fan Palms, Windmill palms, etc.

All the Queen Palms, California (Washingtonia) Palms, Date Palms, Canary Date Palms, and many bedding plants we take for granted (philodendrons, oleanders, lantanas, etc.) would be history.

I was in Tampa in 1983 when it hit 19 degrees. It was a disaster. I wouldn't want to see something like that again.

The '78 winter, while long and extended, was not anywhere near as bad as the '83 or '89 freezes. Looking at the records from San Antonio, '77-78 was not all that bad, a minimum of 20 in December was the coldest and every day recorded highs above freezing. There are about 5 freezes from 1982-1990 that could easily have beat that. It's usually that one or two bitterly cold days that do in the palms rather than extended cold spells (unless there's lots of rain, which can cause rot problems. Generally that is more of a problem north of Austin)

The list of hardy and nonhardy palms is basically right but the Mexican fan palm does not belong on the hardy list, while the California and Canary date palm could be placed there, especially after they've been established.

And yes '83 was horrible both in Central Florida and South Texas.