textproduct: Houston/Galveston

KEY MESSAGES

- Another widespread hard freeze Tuesday morning. Freezing inland temperatures likely again Tuesdsay night and Wednesday night, though becoming less cold with each night.

- A gradual warming trend is expected through Thursday. However, a strong cold front is expected to push through late Thursday/early Friday with the potential for another round of hard freezes.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 1223 AM CST Tue Jan 27 2026

It's a cold, clear, and calm night as I type this forecast discussion. Strong ~1040 MB high pressure is in place over Texas. The set up supports efficient radiational cooling, especially away from the urban heat island. We suspect some rural cold spots will drop well down into teens tonight. I could even see some suburban spots dropping into the teens as well, while most in the City of Houston likely hold on to the 20s. One area that's surprising me is Galveston Island, where temperatures are about as cold as they are at Hobby Airport. So perhaps some of our coastal communities will drop into the upper 20s. My official forecast low at Galveston is 30F. We shall see if radiational cooling allows Galveston to drop further.

High pressure will dominate the weather over the next few days, as temperatures gradually trend warmer. There is some UL Pacific moisture streaming our way along a subtropical jet. We already have a little high cloud action in our area. But the bulk of the upper clouds are still over Mexico and the Pacific. We expect those clouds to continue streaming into our area, yielding to less sunshine for some areas Tuesday afternoon as compared to Monday afternoon. Afternoon temperatures are expected to be in the mid 40s to low 50s. I think most non-coastal areas experience a light freeze Tuesday night. However, northern zones may end up with another hard freeze, albeit not as cold as previous nights. The gradual warming trend will continue through Thursday. Afternoon highs by Thursday could reach.....do I dare say.....normal values? The blend used for our temperatures grids show widespread highs in the low to mid 60s on Thursday across our eastern and southern counties. But the warming trend won't last. The pattern favors yet another strong cold front by week's end. This one looks drier, but could have some rainfall activity ahead of it, especially near the coast.

Long range guidance suggests another ~1040mb high will build down the plains into Texas by the weekend in the wake of Friday's front. That could easily send weekend overnight lows back down into the 20s, perhaps 10s in our northern counties. The outlook for Saturday in quite cold, with highs ranging from the mid/upper 30s in our northern counties to low/mid 40s farther south. So for those who love the cold, we are not done with Old Man Winter just yet!

Self

AVIATION

(00Z TAF Issuance) Issued at 550 PM CST Mon Jan 26 2026

Light winds and VFR conditions prevail throughout the TAF period.

03

MARINE

Issued at 1223 AM CST Tue Jan 27 2026

Winds and seas will be much lower over the next several days. The only lingering hazard will be the low waters levels that will warrant cautious navigation in our bays during times of low tide. The next weather feature of interest is a strong cold front that is expected to push offshore by Friday. Strong northerly winds and building seas will be likely in its wake. Small Craft Advisory level winds and seas should easily be accomplished. Couldn't rule out gusts to gale force (up to 35 knots) over the open Gulf by Friday and Saturday. These strong winds could result in another round of low water levels.

CLIMATE

Issued at 1220 PM CST Sun Jan 25 2026

Record low temperatures:

January 26: Houston Intercontinental (IAH): 23 (1943) Houston Hobby (HOU): 24(1940) Galveston (GLS): 25 (1940) Palacios (PSX): 30 (1961) January 27: Houston Intercontinental (IAH): 19 (1897) Houston Hobby (HOU): 18 (1940) Galveston (GLS): 21 (1897) Palacios (PSX): 29 (1976)

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

College Station (CLL) 43 23 48 28 / 0 0 0 0 Houston (IAH) 49 30 56 32 / 0 0 0 0 Galveston (GLS) 52 43 55 46 / 0 0 0 0

HGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

TX...Extreme Cold Warning until noon CST today for TXZ163-164-176>179- 195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-300-313-335>338-436>439.

GM...Low Water Advisory until 6 PM CST Wednesday for GMZ330-335.