Texas Winter 2025-2026

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Snowman67
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2261 Postby Snowman67 » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:16 pm

txtwister78 wrote:With a 1051 arctic HP centered over the Midwest Friday you can bet on a colder deeper into Texas outcome than what Euro currently has now. Obviously that will impact precip type further south.

Textbook winter storm event with an active southern jet.


Which would put SE TX in play potentially for freezing rain/sleet
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2262 Postby rwfromkansas » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:17 pm

You know it's getting serious when I switch from my phone to my laptop so I can see the pretty maps bigger. Lol.

So, we have UK, Canadian, GFS, Euro on board. The missing piece is ICON. But, that's pretty good agreement. The only wrinkle is if the energy gets delayed or comes out faster than modeled. We know the cold will come in faster than modeled.

What we need is for it to not be so far south that a coastal low forms to rob everybody north.
Last edited by rwfromkansas on Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2263 Postby gpsnowman » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:17 pm

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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2264 Postby bubba hotep » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:17 pm

I don't think I've ever seen a 12z cycle like today, where basically all the major models trended toward agreement on a storm. Usually, it takes a while for them all to fall in line.
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Winter time post are almost exclusively focused on the DFW area.

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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2265 Postby DukeMu » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:26 pm

wxman22 wrote:Wow both the GFS and CMC are showing a major winter storm within 150 hours.

https://i.ibb.co/YThtsGNd/gfs-mvslp-pcpn-frzn-scus-25.png

https://i.ibb.co/jP3z47F8/gemf-mslp-pcpn-frzn-scus-26.png


CMC nailed Feb. 2021. Fingers crossed.
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2266 Postby DukeMu » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:29 pm

gpsnowman wrote:https://x.com/JamesBryantWX/status/2012927281115570662?s=20


Yep. The cold air will overperform. It's a matter of timing and the moisture column.
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2267 Postby wxman57 » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:30 pm

DukeMu wrote:
wxman22 wrote:Wow both the GFS and CMC are showing a major winter storm within 150 hours.

https://i.ibb.co/YThtsGNd/gfs-mvslp-pcpn-frzn-scus-25.png

https://i.ibb.co/jP3z47F8/gemf-mslp-pcpn-frzn-scus-26.png


CMC nailed Feb. 2021. Fingers crossed.


In Houston, the Canadian was about 20 degrees too cold in 2021. It was the absolute worst model for cold here. Same last year. It doesn't do well in SE TX. It's 12Z run January 3rd of 2025 had Houston down to 11F in 3-4 days. However, the low was 37. Second worst was the Euro AI model, which doesn't do well with Arctic air - it was way too warm.
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2268 Postby rwfromkansas » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:31 pm

Today's 12Z GFS does erode the cold up north quicker after the storm than yesterday's run, which may have implications for staying power for the cold. As long as it connects to the trough enough to bleed cold for a storm, that's all we really need though. If it's significant it will still be a mess for even Monday.
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2269 Postby Ntxw » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:36 pm

Wave 1 and 2 attacking the SPV to start Feb.

Image
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2270 Postby wxman57 » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:37 pm

12Z EC has over 1.5 inches of ice (sleet/freezing rain) across the D-FW area east through northern LA next Sat/Sun. Snow stays north of the area. That would be fun. Highs in the mid-20s next weekend up in D-FW. Sound like fun? Give me 100 degrees any day over that kind of mess.

For Houston, a light freeze Sunday (like this morning) and upper 20s next Monday. Just rain across SE TX, which is a good thing. I want the 70s that it promised me on the 00Z run back...
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2271 Postby txtwister78 » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:39 pm

Snowman67 wrote:
txtwister78 wrote:With a 1051 arctic HP centered over the Midwest Friday you can bet on a colder deeper into Texas outcome than what Euro currently has now. Obviously that will impact precip type further south.

Textbook winter storm event with an active southern jet.


Which would put SE TX in play potentially for freezing rain/sleet


Potentially however these setups when it comes to shallower arctic airmaases are always harder to game when it comes to the SE Texas region especially Houston metro points east into western Louisiana.

As I've mentioned previously during these outbreaks, cold air typically dams up against the Quachita moutain range in Arkansas and delays it south so as is the case with these events you often get arctic air delivered faster into the HC and SC TX region before it bleeds into SE TX as a result of that topography.

There are other factors however that can remove some of that (upper level assistance for example) but more times than not that's a legitimate impediment for ice along the SE coastal regions in particular.
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2272 Postby Sambucol2024 » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:41 pm

Stratton23 wrote:Yup the Euro caved to the GFS/ CMC, things are getting fun now folks


Will the winter storm shown in the latest run move down to the upper Texas coast? All the green, does it change to freezing rain, sleet, or ice?
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2273 Postby Gotwood » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:44 pm

txtwister78 wrote:With a 1051 arctic HP centered over the Midwest Friday you can bet on a colder deeper into Texas outcome than what Euro currently has now. Obviously that will impact precip type further south.

Textbook winter storm event with an active southern jet.

Your post brings gladness to my heart haha.
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2274 Postby Wthrfan » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:46 pm

Iceresistance wrote:YIKES :eek: :cold: :froze:
(black outlines means screenshotted)
https://s12.gifyu.com/images/bkSYO.png
https://s12.gifyu.com/images/bkSYO.png


We need the precip to head a little further north!
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2275 Postby Stratton23 » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:48 pm

Sambucol2024 it depends on where you are, its much more difficult to get frozen precipitation right at the coast because the gulf waters have some warm influence, but i will say though as txtwister78 mentioned, when you got a 1050+ Arctic high in the central plains, thats some really big cold that the global models arent going to see well, dont be surprised to see temperatures come in colder on future runs, and if our storm system holds, expect to see frozen precipitation show up for all of SE texas and possibly down to south texas
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2276 Postby txtwister78 » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:48 pm

Gotwood wrote:
txtwister78 wrote:With a 1051 arctic HP centered over the Midwest Friday you can bet on a colder deeper into Texas outcome than what Euro currently has now. Obviously that will impact precip type further south.

Textbook winter storm event with an active southern jet.

Your post brings gladness to my heart haha.


Lol!
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2277 Postby txtwister78 » Sun Jan 18, 2026 1:56 pm

Stratton23 wrote:Sambucol2024 it depends on where you are, its much more difficult to get frozen precipitation right at the coast because the gulf waters have some warm influence, but i will say though as txtwister78 mentioned, when you got a 1050+ Arctic high in the central plains, thats some really big cold that the global models arent going to see well, dont be surprised to see temperatures come in colder on future runs, and if our storm system holds, expect to see frozen precipitation show up for all of SE texas and possibly down to south texas


Yeah definitely not out of the question if you get a much more colder airmass to just overwhelm and more importantly timing of precip is a bit more critical across that region for the reasons mentioned above.
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2278 Postby Quixotic » Sun Jan 18, 2026 2:00 pm

3” of sleet would be awful. Cobblestone 2003/2013 all over again.
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2279 Postby Sambucol2024 » Sun Jan 18, 2026 2:01 pm

Stratton23 wrote:Sambucol2024 it depends on where you are, its much more difficult to get frozen precipitation right at the coast because the gulf waters have some warm influence, but i will say though as txtwister78 mentioned, when you got a 1050+ Arctic high in the central plains, thats some really big cold that the global models arent going to see well, dont be surprised to see temperatures come in colder on future runs, and if our storm system holds, expect to see frozen precipitation show up for all of SE texas and possibly down to south texas



We are near Mont Belvieu, not close to the coastline, between Houston and Beaumont. Decided to go ahead and start a few winter preps today.
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Re: Texas Winter 2025-2026

#2280 Postby DukeMu » Sun Jan 18, 2026 2:05 pm

wxman57 wrote:
DukeMu wrote:
wxman22 wrote:Wow both the GFS and CMC are showing a major winter storm within 150 hours.

https://i.ibb.co/YThtsGNd/gfs-mvslp-pcpn-frzn-scus-25.png

https://i.ibb.co/jP3z47F8/gemf-mslp-pcpn-frzn-scus-26.png


CMC nailed Feb. 2021. Fingers crossed.


In Houston, the Canadian was about 20 degrees too cold in 2021. It was the absolute worst model for cold here. Same last year. It doesn't do well in SE TX. It's 12Z run January 3rd of 2025 had Houston down to 11F in 3-4 days. However, the low was 37. Second worst was the Euro AI model, which doesn't do well with Arctic air - it was way too warm.


Nailed it in College Station. We hit two 5°F lows. 6 inches of snow. Temps were below freezing all week. A once in a lifetime event. The Canadian also nailed for CLL the Jan. 2021 snow - another 5-6 inch of snow event.

The temp. gradient was steep in Feb. 2021, but the cold was enough to cause a once in a lifetime power outage.
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