Texas winter weather thread #2 - winter weather on Friday?

[vbhoutex]

We got to 29º the night before last and only went down to 30º last night. That now makes 3 freezes at my house in Spring Branch. THAT IS HIGHLY UNUSUAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR!!!!!! Or for that matter, more than 5 or 6 freezes during a winter has been unusual for quite a while here. El Nino appears to be making an impact. The question is whether or not the correct combination will come together during the winter(due to El Nino)to produce the winter precipitation we all seem to want so badly(until it messes everything up). What the people in Illinois and Missouri are recovering from after the last storm I don't even want to think about!!!!

[jasons2k]

Hey vb - I'm with you. I wouldn't mind seeing a flurry or two before spring but my plants have already taken a beating with these repeated freezes. This morning at my house was by far the worst - the frost burned all the fronds on my Majesty and Pygmy Date palms. I hosed them down before the sun hit them but they were already in the clutches of ol' Jack Frost. Haven't even checked the Mandevilla yet (too scared to).

Hopefully with the pattern going zonal we'll have a more "normal" winter - at least for awhile.

[Portastorm]

Hey vb - I'm with you. I wouldn't mind seeing a flurry or two before spring but my plants have already taken a beating with these repeated freezes. This morning at my house was by far the worst - the frost burned all the fronds on my Majesty and Pygmy Date palms. I hosed them down before the sun hit them but they were already in the clutches of ol' Jack Frost. Haven't even checked the Mandevilla yet (too scared to).

Hopefully with the pattern going zonal we'll have a more "normal" winter - at least for awhile.

Oh geez jschlitz, would you quit griping already about your pygmy plants!

If you xeriscaped, you wouldn't have this problem. Try a rock garden or something!!

[KatDaddy]

It was down to 31F at League City before I left to work at 6:30AM. I am sure I bottomed out at 30F.

[Extremeweatherguy]

Here is the NWS forecast for north Houston over the next 7 days:

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 37. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 67. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 45. Calm wind becoming north between 10 and 15 mph.

Thursday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 59. North wind around 15 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 32. North wind between 10 and 15 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 36.

Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63.

Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47.

Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.

Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51.

Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 68.

Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51.

Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 68.

Looks like one more big cold shot before we moderate, and another freeze is possible on Thursday night (with highs Friday only in the lower 50s). By next week at this time, however, the pattern should be very different. We will be warmer (mid to upper 60s), with clouds and a chance of rain..

[richtrav]

Bleh! Who likes xeroscaping? They usually rot in Houston's wet spells anyways. I'm surprised your pygmy dates got burned, they usually can take the mid-20s briefly if there's no frost (and I've seen them in Brownsville on the freeways growing with NO extra water, thank you very much). Now majesties are definitely more tender (and thirstier)

[jasons2k]

LOL Portastorm

Actually, Pygmy Dates are pretty drought tolerant. They just don't like Hard freezes.

Mine aren't burned that badly. It'll be hard to tell on the Majesty's for a few days. I didn't plant them as they are not hardy here in Houston for more than ~5-10 years. I think these were planted in 2000. Still, they are beautiful and I don't want to lose them:



This was taken last Spring - fronds were still leaf burned (in the back right):

[Portastorm]

You know, those really are nice looking plants! No wonder you want to keep them healthy. And I'm guessing the size of them prohibits you from doing much in the way of keeping them warm enough to survive.

Whatever happened to smudge pots anyhow?! As a kid, I remember reading how Florida orange growers used smudge pots to prevent the trees from freezing.

Oh well, guess I'm really off the topic now. Sorry gang.

I'll vote for no hard freezes in Houston as long as we can muster up a snow event here and there.

[PTrackerLA]

By the way, we hit 25 degrees officially here in Lafayette! This makes it the coldest morning we've experienced in almost 4 years! On January 24, 2003 we hit 21 degrees. If this had ANY indication on what the rest of the winter might bring I'd expect several more hard freezes. After years of non-winters (last year we didn't drop below 30 the entire winter) it looks like we might be seeing a return to winters like the mid 90's when hard freezes were common during the winter. It may not feel like winter for Christmas this year, but it sure will look like it with everything dead!

[southerngale]

Brrrrr....it sure was cold last night! We hit 25° here...wow!

Officially, we broke a record at the Beaumont/Port Arthur airport as well...at 28°
There were several records broken in the area.


RECORD LOWS FOR THE MORNING OF DECEMBER 5TH

KAEX (ALEXANDRIA).............21F...OLD RECORD 26F IN 1989
KBPT (BEAUMONT/PORT ARTHUR)...28F...OLD RECORD 30F IN 1945
KARA (NEW IBERIA).............26F...OLD RECORD 32F IN 1979



NEAR RECORD LOWS FOR THE MORNING OF DECEMBER 5TH

KLCH (LAKE CHARLES)...........25F...RECORD 24F IN 1898
KLFT (LAFAYETTE)..............25F...RECORD 24F IN 1898


Record lows above are from the NWS Lake Charles discussion

[gatorcane]

Hey jschlitz -- yes they are very tropical looking but not a good long-term or even medium-term choice for even southern Texas. I'm surprised if they would last more than about 2-3 years in Houston. Unfortunately those palm trees only have long-term growth potential in South Florida from a line extending from Ft. Myers on the west coast to about Port St. Lucie-Jupiter on the East coast of Florida.

I tried planting some small coconut palms when I used to live in the Tampa/St. Pete area. They lasted 3 years and then a hard-freeze got every single one of them despite me covering them. The lows were in the upper 20s for more than 3 hours for two nights in a row. That toasted them. Also, the cold got me too as I had to move farther south.

[Extremeweatherguy]

LOL Portastorm

Actually, Pygmy Dates are pretty drought tolerant. They just don't like Hard freezes.

Mine aren't burned that badly. It'll be hard to tell on the Majesty's for a few days. I didn't plant them as they are not hardy here in Houston for more than ~5-10 years. I think these were planted in 2000. Still, they are beautiful and I don't want to lose them:



This was taken last Spring - fronds were still leaf burned (in the back right):

wow! I am noticing your banana trees the most. They still look very good compared to what I am seeing down here. All the banana trees down in my area are completely brown, crisp and dead-looking. Yours, however, still look to be hanging on (somewhat) so far. Amazing!

[jasons2k]

Hey Gatorcane, yep, you are right. I'm originally from Tampa and I remember as a kid the first coconut & royal palms were from about Bradenton south. Some have crept up into Tampa now but they'll die one of these days.

Majestys are a little more Hardy - to about 26F. They can survive here for several years if I wrap them. I'm also looking at a chemical freeze protector that adds 6-10F of hardiness - that will get harder to apply when they get taller though (if they make it that long). I'm well aware I could lose them in any given year - that's why I keep an eye on the freezes.

I didn't plant them (they came with the house) but I'm going to keep them as long as possible. If I lose them I will likely plant Queen Palms. Still a borderline plant for Houston but they can go to 20-22F.

Hey EWG - the first pic is from about 3 weeks ago - before the freeze, and the second pic is from last spring. The bananas now are still standing but the leaves are fried.

[Extremeweatherguy]

Hey Gatorcane, yep, you are right. I'm originally from Tampa and I remember as a kid the first coconut & royal palms were from about Bradenton south. Some have crept up into Tampa now but they'll die one of these days.

Majestys are a little more Hardy - to about 26F. They can survive here for several years if I wrap them. I'm also looking at a chemical freeze protector that adds 6-10F of hardiness - that will get harder to apply when they get taller though (if they make it that long). I'm well aware I could lose them in any given year - that's why I keep an eye on the freezes.

I didn't plant them (they came with the house) but I'm going to keep them as long as possible. If I lose them I will likely plant Queen Palms. Still a borderline plant for Houston but they can go to 20-22F.

Hey EWG - the first pic is from about 3 weeks ago - before the freeze, and the second pic is from last spring. The bananas now are still standing but the leaves are fried.

Oh ok, because that would have been amazing if they still looked that good!

[Extremeweatherguy]

BTW, here is a picture I snapped this morning in my area while the thermometer was sitting at 27F. Very "winter-like" look to the scenery at that time (note the frost on the plants)...



Brrr..

BTW: I am actually looking foward to some warmer weather soon though. These cold mornings have caused me to become somewhat sick over the past few days and it is really taking a toll. For once, extremeweatherguy is actually wanting some non-extreme weather for a change!

[Yankeegirl]

Hey Jschlitz, I love your shirt, Dave Mathews fan? I went to that concert up at the Woodlands a few years back.... got the same shirt!!

[richtrav]

Wow, the majesty looks great in that pic, like a coconut. They make generally terrible palms for Florida since they really want a rich heavy moist soil, a rarity on the peninsula (maybe over by the Lake)

[Extremeweatherguy]

Thursday night and Friday continue to look colder and colder:

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. North wind between 10 and 15 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 51. Northeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.

[jasons2k]

Hey Jschlitz, I love your shirt, Dave Mathews fan? I went to that concert up at the Woodlands a few years back.... got the same shirt!!

You know it! I think that shirt was from when I saw them in Dallas @ the Starplex/Smirnoff. A sorry excuse for a concert venue.

Best show I saw was in '99 @ The Woodlands. That's definitely the place to see DMB - at least around here.

[Portastorm]

Thursday night and Friday continue to look colder and colder:

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. North wind between 10 and 15 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 51. Northeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Since I've now been dubbed the S2K JB Sycophant I must tell you all that he's been right on the money in terms of trends this winter. Last week he was warning that this last cold shot down the Plains would smash GFS numbers and that indeed is happening.

If his hot hand continues, look for a milder (not above normal mind you but milder from what we have seen in the last 7-10 days) and wetter pattern for Texas followed by a major cold blast around or right after Christmas.