To begin, let me give you some background info... the past week or two the weather has been unseasonably warm... we're talking around 70 degrees F and sometimes even warmer! But last night and continuing in to today, the temperatures are continuing to drop. They are expected to reach the high 20's and hover between 28 and 32 for the next 24 hours! That's bad news for the greater-Houston area because ice is not exactly our forte, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I'm feeling exceptionally fortunate that my job allows me to work from home several days a week so I don't have to go out into this mess in order to go to work... thank you Lord!
Not really sure what is going to happen during this ice storm, but they (the weather-guessers) are predicting possible sleet/freezing rain and possibly snow in some areas. In any case the roads are supposed to be in bad shape for commuters. Many schools and businesses are closing tomorrow for this very reason.
Chris, Daniel (my bro.), and Cameron (family friend from Australia staying here with us for a month) went out this evening and covered all the plants in the front yard with old sheets and a tarp to keep the plants warm and dry. We've wrapped the pipes and we've gone to the grocery store and gotten supplies for food for the next two days so we should be set. Now I've included below some articles from various news stations on the goings on. Hopefully we'll not see any tragedies and we'll all just get a day off! (and hopefully this post is not all for nothing and we really do get something exciting!)
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Article taken from www.khou.com
Ice Remains A Threat for Greater Houston Area
Counties northwest of Houston are under an ice storm warning through 6 a.m. Tuesday
Temperatures in the northwest counties will drop to and below freezing after sunset
"The temperatures are expected to be in the upper 20s there tonight so if there's precipitation it looks like it will be in the form of sleet and maybe freezing rain," said 11 News Meteorologist Dr. Neil Frank.
Harris, Fort Bend, Liberty and Wharton counties remain under a winter storm watch tonight.
"Everybody, all the way to the immediate coastline, has a good chance for sleet and ice and maybe snow Tuesday," 11 News meteorologist David Paul said.
The temperature drop and the wet weather looks like it will combine early Tuesday morning and last off and on through the day.
Cars coming into Huntsville from Dallas had ice on them.
"So far the reports in our northwest counties have been of snowflakes and not ice or sleet," Paul said. "That's good news because the ice, the freezing rain is what could really ice over those bridges and overpasses.
"We're looking at one-tenth to one-quarter of an inch of ice accumulation, which would be enough to bring down power lines and of course make the bridges and overpasses very dangerous," he said.
Harris County sent sand trucks out Monday afternoon to get a head start.
The county also closed three locations until the threat of ice has passed: The Eastbound Westpark flyover to 59/Southwest Freeway Northbound; The Harris County Fort Bend extension from the Sam Houston Tollway to 90A; The direct connector from Southbound Grand Parkway to Eastbound Fort Bend Westpark Toll Road.
Along with slick roads, ice brings the threat of power outages.
CenterPoint crews are on standby to respond if ice covers power lines and tree branches.
Most larger school districts were watching the forecast and waiting to make the decision about classes Tuesday.
Due to the weather, flights at Intercontinental are delayed 31 to 45 minutes.
Residents were evacuated when Lake Creek washed over the road.
While most of the Houston area braces for a possible ice storm, it was heavy rain that left some Montgomery County residents stranded.
The Woodlands Fire Department rescued several people from a neighborhood near Superior Road and FM 1488.
A rain-swollen Lake Creek flooded part of the road, stranding the residents.
Emergency vehicles were sent in to get them out.
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Taken from www.abc13.com
Winter Storm Watch
Periods of freezing rain and sleet will continue to move across southeast Texas overnight. With temperatures dropping below freezing, some roads could be slick for the morning commute. The evening commute could be worse as more freezing rain and sleet falls during the day. Don't expect the weather to improve until the end of the week.
Tim Heller
Chief Meteorologist
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Taken from: National Weather Service
Hazardous Weather Outlook
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
336 PM CST MON JAN 15 2007
TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-161300-
AUSTIN-BRAZORIA-BRAZOS-BURLESON-CHAMBERS-COLORADO-FORT BEND-
GALVESTON-GRIMES-HARRIS-HOUSTON-JACKSON-LIBERTY-MADISON-MATAGORDA-
MONTGOMERY-POLK-SAN JACINTO-TRINITY-WALKER-WALLER-WASHINGTON-
WHARTON-
336 PM CST MON JAN 15 2007
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS.
...ICE STORM WARNINGS AND WINTER STORM WATCHES HAVE BEEN POSTED FOR
INLAND COUNTIES AND SOUTHERN COASTAL COUNTIES OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS...
...WINTER STORM WATCHES MAY BE EXPANDED SOUTHWARD AND POSSIBLY
UPGRADED TO ADVISORIES OR WARNINGS LATER TONIGHT OR ON TUESDAY...
.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT
WITH THE EXPECTED APPROACH OF AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE FROM THE
SOUTHWEST...FROZEN PRECIPITATION IS LOOKING INCREASINGLY LIKELY
ACROSS NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS LATE TONIGHT...EXPANDING
SOUTHWARD ON TUESDAY. SEE THE LATEST ICE STORM WARNING...WINTER
STORM WATCH AND SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT ALREADY ISSUED BY THIS
OFFICE FOR MORE DETAILS ON THIS DEVELOPING HAZARDOUS AND POTENTIALLY
DANGEROUS WINTER WEATHER SITUATION. THESE PRODUCTS WILL BE UPDATED
AS IT BECOMES NECESSARY.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY
THE WINTER WEATHER PRECIPITATION AND FREEZING TEMPERATURE THREAT CONTINUES
TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. SEE THE ABOVE WARNINGS...WATCHES
AND STATEMENTS FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
1 comment:
well I said I would update and look at you actually ypdating. I better get on board. I'll put some pics up. I miss you and it was great getting to see you and I hope all goes well....see you at ATF!
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