Healthy cold front on way for Texas

[gboudx]

Oh, it wasn't much of anything really. Crush some ice, go outside and throw it in the air. That's about the same thing as we saw this morning.

Well its still better than 45 and rain that we are getting here. We have only seen a freeze 4 times this year. and that is it so far.

Compare those 4 freezes with the fact that tonight will mark the 1st or 2nd freeze(depending on location) for the DFW metroplex. I'm guessing that's about right for this area, considering it's not even Winter yet.

[Wnghs2007]

Oh, it wasn't much of anything really. Crush some ice, go outside and throw it in the air. That's about the same thing as we saw this morning.

Well its still better than 45 and rain that we are getting here. We have only seen a freeze 4 times this year. and that is it so far.

Compare those 4 freezes with the fact that tonight will mark the 1st or 2nd freeze(depending on location) for the DFW metroplex. I'm guessing that's about right for this area, considering it's not even Winter yet.

Hmmmm...LOL...Still you have seen some sort of wintery wx. We have not.

[vbhoutex]

Here at the house this am it is 34º and at the weatherbug station nearest me it is 33º. I haven't seen the official yet, but it will be freezing or below since the reporting station at the airport is 21 miles N of the city center.

[CaptinCrunch]

made it down to 26 last night..... Heavy frost covered everything!!!

[gboudx]

Strange, NWS shows 32 as the low for Rockwall, but checking area Weatherbug sites, shows the lowest temp of 34. But there's a heavy frost everywhere.

[Portastorm]

We hit 30 degrees near my house in north Austin. The airport reported a low of 26 degrees but that temp gauge almost always seems to run colder than everywhere else in town.

And yes ... lots of HEAVY frost around this morning!

[CaptinCrunch]

I have a rain gauge that has a thermostat on it and it read between 26 and 27 degrees at 5am this morning. I live in Southern Tarrent Co. and all we have around us is a few homes on our street and the rest is open paster with horse's.

[gboudx]

The reading in Rockwall may be affected by Lake Ray Hubbard. I live less than a mile from it. But it's not that big of a lake. I can't imagine it would affect air temperature that much. Not like Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans does to cities on the Southshore anyway.

[CaptinCrunch]

Large lakes like Ray, Lewisville, and Joe Pool can moderate a cold air mass enough to cause a 1 or 2 degree difference living close to the lake.

[gboudx]

Thanks CC. Too bad it's not big enough for some lake effect snows huh?

[CaptinCrunch]

Lake effect snows would be nice and would give me reason to live near one!!

[cctxhurricanewatcher]

To have something like this at Christmas time in South Texas would be cool for getting into the Christmas sprit. Pay attention to the last paragraph, that's what I would like

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
800 AM CST WED DEC 1 2004

...TODAY IS WINTER WEATHER AWARENESS DAY IN TEXAS...

...RECALLING THE ICE STORM OF FEB 24-26 2003...

WHILE WINTER WEATHER OCCURS MORE FREQUENTLY IN THE MIDDLE
LATITUDES...IT CAN ALSO REACH SOUTH TEXAS. ARCTIC
AIRMASSES CAN PLUNGE SOUTHWARD...DRIVING FREEZING
TEMPERATURES WELL SOUTH AS SAN ANTONIO. MOST OF THESE
AIRMASSES BRING HARD FREEZES AND BITING WIND CHILLS...
BUT SOME CAN BRING WINTER STORMS.

THE FEBRUARY STORM BEGAN AS A STRONG ARCTIC AIRMASS
PLUNGED INTO SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FROM THE PLAINS STATES.
THE FRONT WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A BITING NORTHERLY WIND AND
TEMPERATURES DROPPING WELL BELOW SEASONAL NORMALS FOR
LATE FEBRUARY. AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM FORMED IN THE
WAKE OF THE FRONT ON MONDAY...FEBRUARY 24TH. WARM MOIST
AIR FROM THE GULF BEGAN RUNNING OVER THE DOME OF VERY
COLD AIR AT THE SURFACE.

WINTRY PRECIPITATION DEVELOPED FROM THE HILL COUNTRY
ACROSS THE INTERSTATE 35 CORRIDOR AND EASTWARD. BY MONDAY
NIGHT...THE WINTRY MIX OF SNOW...SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN
WAS ACCOMPANIED AT TIMES BY THUNDER AND LIGHTNING.
MODERATE TO OCCASIONALLY HEAVY PRECIPITATION CONTINUED
INTO TUESDAY MORNING...FEBRUARY 25TH.

ROAD CONDITIONS BEGAN TO DETERIORATE MONDAY AFTERNOON
AS ICE BEGAN TO ACCUMULATE ON AREA ROADWAYS...OVERPASSES
AND BRIDGES...MAKING DRIVING NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. THE ICY
CONDITIONS WORSENED THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING...BRINGING
BUSINESSES AND GOVERNMENT OFFICES TO A VIRTUAL HALT. AS
TEMPERATURES REMAINED GENERALLY IN THE 20S ON TUESDAY...
MOST AREA SCHOOLS WERE FORCED TO REMAIN CLOSED.

TEMPERATURES FINALLY BEGAN TO WARM WEDNESDAY MORNING...
CLIMBING ABOVE THE FREEZING MARK BY THE AFTERNOON.
MOST SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES REOPENED WEDNESDAY THE 26TH.
ROADS IMPROVED QUICKLY AS THE RISING TEMPERATURES
ENHANCED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SALT AND SAND THAT HAD
BEEN DEPOSITED AREAWIDE.

THE STORM SEVERELY AFFECTED 21 OF THE 33 COUNTIES OF
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. REPORTS FROM THESE COUNTIES
INCLUDED...WIDESPREAD ROAD CLOSURES...INCLUDING MAJOR
INTERSTATES...ICE ACCUMULATION OF UP TO AN INCH...SCHOOLS
AND BUSINESSES CLOSED...AND WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES

SIGNIFICANT ICE EVENTS CAN INDEED OCCUR IN SOUTH TEXAS.
OUR CLIMATOLOGY SHOWS THE SAME TYPE OF OCCURRENCE
HAPPENING MANY TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF THE PAST FEW
DECADES. BACK IN JANUARY OF 1985...HEAVY SNOW WITH NEAR
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS STRUCK SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS WITH AS
MUCH AS 13.5 INCHES OF SNOW FALLING IN THE SAN ANTONIO
AREA. AREAS IN THE NORTH AND WEST HILL COUNTRY RECEIVED
UP TO 10 INCHES OF THE WHITE STUFF.

[cctxhurricanewatcher]

Or will we ever see somthing like this again?

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
1201 PM CST WED DEC 1 2004

...TODAY IS WINTER WEATHER AWARENESS DAY IN TEXAS...

...THE COLDEST NIGHT IN TEXAS HISTORY...
...COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LUBBOCK TX...

FEBRUARY 1899 WAS A VERY COLD MONTH...THANKS MOSTLY TO A BITTERLY
COLD OUTBREAK FROM THE 11TH THROUGH THE 13TH. IN FACT...NOTHING
IN THE HISTORY OF TEXAS QUITE COMPARES TO FEBRUARY 12TH 1899.

SOME OF THE COLDEST WEATHER THAT EVER HIT TEXAS OCCURRED ON
FEBRUARY 12TH OF THAT YEAR. THE LOWEST TEMPERATE EVER RECORDED
IN THE STATE OCCURRED AT TULIA IN SWISHER COUNTY IN THE EXTREME
SOUTHERN PANHANDLE. THE THERMOMETER DROPPED TO 23 DEGREES BELOW
ZERO. HOWEVER...THERE WERE UNOFFICIAL REPORTS THAT WERE EVEN
COLDER...30 DEGREES BELOW ZERO...THAT NIGHT AT TWO OTHER LOCATIONS
(WOLF CREEK AND AT A SITE SOUTHEAST OF PERRYTON...BOTH IN
OCHILTREE COUNTY IN THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE).

THIS COLD AIR SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE STATE. THERE WERE EVEN
REPORTS OF A THIN LAYER OF ICE COATING MOST OF GALVESTON BAY.

THE ALL TIME RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE THAT WAS ESTABLISHED AT
TULIA WAS TIED YEARS LATER WHEN SEMINOLE...IN GAINES COUNTY
OF WEST TEXAS... REPORTED A TEMPERATURE OF 23 DEGREES BELOW
ZERO ON FEBRUARY 8 1933.

MANY TEXAS CITIES ESTABLISHED ALL-TIME RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES
IN FEBRUARY 1899. BELOW IS A LIST OF THE RECORD LOWS AT VARIOUS
CITIES ACROSS THE STATE.

ABILENE.............9 BELOW ZERO...SET IN 1947
AMARILLO...........16 BELOW ZERO...SET IN 1899
AUSTIN..............2 BELOW ZERO...SET IN 1949
BEAUMONT/PT. ART...11 DEGREES......SET IN 1930
BROWNSVILLE........12 DEGREES......SET IN 1899
CORPUS CHRISTI.....11 DEGREES......SET IN 1899
DALLAS/FT. WORTH....8 BELOW ZERO...SET IN 1899
DEL RIO............10 DEGREES......SET IN 1989
EL PASO.............8 BELOW ZERO...SET IN 1962
GALVESTON...........8 DEGREES..... SET IN 1899
HOUSTON.............5 DEGREES......SET IN 1930 AND 1940
LUBBOCK............17 BELOW ZERO...SET IN 1933
MIDLAND/ODESSA.....11 BELOW ZERO...SET IN 1985
SAN ANGELO..........4 BELOW ZERO...SET IN 1989
SAN ANTONIO.........0 DEGREES......SET IN 1949
WACO................5 BELOW ZERO...SET IN 1949 AND 1899
WICHITA FALLS......12 BELOW ZERO...SET IN 1947

[Portastorm]

I remember the 2003 event vividly as I was one of those poor souls stuck on the road that Monday evening, making a normal 30-minute trip home in 2 hours from downtown Austin.

Can't says I remember the 1899 event! HOWEVER, I do recall Christmas of 1989 here in Austin when it hit 4 degrees above zero right before the holiday. That was a classic South Texas Pipebuster.

[cctxhurricanewatcher]

I remember the 2003 event vividly as I was one of those poor souls stuck on the road that Monday evening, making a normal 30-minute trip home in 2 hours from downtown Austin.

Can't says I remember the 1899 event! HOWEVER, I do recall Christmas of 1989 here in Austin when it hit 4 degrees above zero right before the holiday. That was a classic South Texas Pipebuster.

I recall both 1983 and 1989 and I was living in the McAllen area at that time. 1983 was cold from early December to late Jan 1984 with several freezes before and after the Christmas outbreaks.

In 1989, I recall a packing shed burned in my hometown during that outbreak and the scence after the fire with all of the ice that was looked like something you would have seen from a fire in cold country. Quite a site and I remember the lows one of those nights was 12 at my house.

[Wnghs2007]

To have something like this at Christmas time in South Texas would be cool for getting into the Christmas sprit. Pay attention to the last paragraph, that's what I would like

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
800 AM CST WED DEC 1 2004

...TODAY IS WINTER WEATHER AWARENESS DAY IN TEXAS...

...RECALLING THE ICE STORM OF FEB 24-26 2003...

WHILE WINTER WEATHER OCCURS MORE FREQUENTLY IN THE MIDDLE
LATITUDES...IT CAN ALSO REACH SOUTH TEXAS. ARCTIC
AIRMASSES CAN PLUNGE SOUTHWARD...DRIVING FREEZING
TEMPERATURES WELL SOUTH AS SAN ANTONIO. MOST OF THESE
AIRMASSES BRING HARD FREEZES AND BITING WIND CHILLS...
BUT SOME CAN BRING WINTER STORMS.

THE FEBRUARY STORM BEGAN AS A STRONG ARCTIC AIRMASS
PLUNGED INTO SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS FROM THE PLAINS STATES.
THE FRONT WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A BITING NORTHERLY WIND AND
TEMPERATURES DROPPING WELL BELOW SEASONAL NORMALS FOR
LATE FEBRUARY. AN UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM FORMED IN THE
WAKE OF THE FRONT ON MONDAY...FEBRUARY 24TH. WARM MOIST
AIR FROM THE GULF BEGAN RUNNING OVER THE DOME OF VERY
COLD AIR AT THE SURFACE.

WINTRY PRECIPITATION DEVELOPED FROM THE HILL COUNTRY
ACROSS THE INTERSTATE 35 CORRIDOR AND EASTWARD. BY MONDAY
NIGHT...THE WINTRY MIX OF SNOW...SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN
WAS ACCOMPANIED AT TIMES BY THUNDER AND LIGHTNING.
MODERATE TO OCCASIONALLY HEAVY PRECIPITATION CONTINUED
INTO TUESDAY MORNING...FEBRUARY 25TH.

ROAD CONDITIONS BEGAN TO DETERIORATE MONDAY AFTERNOON
AS ICE BEGAN TO ACCUMULATE ON AREA ROADWAYS...OVERPASSES
AND BRIDGES...MAKING DRIVING NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. THE ICY
CONDITIONS WORSENED THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING...BRINGING
BUSINESSES AND GOVERNMENT OFFICES TO A VIRTUAL HALT. AS
TEMPERATURES REMAINED GENERALLY IN THE 20S ON TUESDAY...
MOST AREA SCHOOLS WERE FORCED TO REMAIN CLOSED.

TEMPERATURES FINALLY BEGAN TO WARM WEDNESDAY MORNING...
CLIMBING ABOVE THE FREEZING MARK BY THE AFTERNOON.
MOST SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES REOPENED WEDNESDAY THE 26TH.
ROADS IMPROVED QUICKLY AS THE RISING TEMPERATURES
ENHANCED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SALT AND SAND THAT HAD
BEEN DEPOSITED AREAWIDE.

THE STORM SEVERELY AFFECTED 21 OF THE 33 COUNTIES OF
SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. REPORTS FROM THESE COUNTIES
INCLUDED...WIDESPREAD ROAD CLOSURES...INCLUDING MAJOR
INTERSTATES...ICE ACCUMULATION OF UP TO AN INCH...SCHOOLS
AND BUSINESSES CLOSED...AND WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES

SIGNIFICANT ICE EVENTS CAN INDEED OCCUR IN SOUTH TEXAS.
OUR CLIMATOLOGY SHOWS THE SAME TYPE OF OCCURRENCE
HAPPENING MANY TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF THE PAST FEW
DECADES. BACK IN JANUARY OF 1985...HEAVY SNOW WITH NEAR
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS STRUCK SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS WITH AS
MUCH AS 13.5 INCHES OF SNOW FALLING IN THE SAN ANTONIO
AREA. AREAS IN THE NORTH AND WEST HILL COUNTRY RECEIVED
UP TO 10 INCHES OF THE WHITE STUFF.

Thanks for the good post.

[CaptinCrunch]

I remember the 2003 event vividly as I was one of those poor souls stuck on the road that Monday evening, making a normal 30-minute trip home in 2 hours from downtown Austin.

Can't says I remember the 1899 event! HOWEVER, I do recall Christmas of 1989 here in Austin when it hit 4 degrees above zero right before the holiday. That was a classic South Texas Pipebuster.

It was -1 below here in D/FW that night, I think it was five nights in a row of temps in the teen's or lower.