Heavy Snow in Texas, December 24 to 25, 2004

Name: Heavy Snow in Texas, December 24 to 25, 2004
Start: 2004-12-24T21:00
End: 2004-12-25T05:00
Location: Texas

December 24 to 25, 2004 · NWS HGX · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS HGX wrote it up.

A rare and record breaking snowfall occurred Christmas Eve into early Christmas morning across Southeast Texas. For the first time in recorded history, some areas experienced their first white Christmas. The northernmost edge of the snow ran from a Cotulla to Cuero to Sugar Land to Winnie line. Snowfall totals ranged from about an inch (in Pasadena) to around 12 inches (in Brazoria) across the region. An arctic cold front had pushed across Southeast Texas on Wednesday (December 22nd) dropping temperatures below freezing, so plenty of cold air was in place Christmas Eve when the snow began. What made this event unusual was not just the cold air being in place, but the depth of the cold air that was in place over the area. Before the heavy snow began on the night of Christmas Eve, the entire depth of the atmosphere over Southeast Texas was below freezing. Normally when winter weather events occur in Southeast Texas, the depth of the cold air is much shallower, resulting in ice (freezing rain or sleet) being a lot more common than snow. The morning of Christmas Eve, a strong upper level low was evident on satellite across northern Mexico. Ahead of this system, some snow began across Southeast Texas, but the dry atmosphere kept the snowfall light during the day, resulting in only trace amounts or a light dusting through late afternoon. Eventually, the atmosphere moistened up by late in the day as the upper level low approached from the west. The upper low moved across South Texas during the nighttime hours Christmas Eve, resulting in a band of heavy snowfall just north of the track of the system. The band of heaviest snowfall, about 20 miles wide, was centered from Victoria to Edna to Bay City to Lake Jackson. In this area, approximately 9 to 12 inches of snow fell. All areas south of a line from around Garwood to Needville to Friendswood to Texas City saw at least 3 inches of snow, with 4 inches falling on Galveston Island and 6 inches reported in Angleton and Alvin. North of this area, the snowfall totals dropped off rapidly. Snowfall totals of around an inch occurred in Clear Lake and Missouri City, with accumulations in Houston generally ranging from a dusting to around an inch. The heavier snowfall occurred over the coastal counties south of Houston because this area had more moisture in the atmosphere (being closer to the Gulf), and was also closer to the track of the upper level low. As you headed north and got north of Interstate 10, the atmosphere was too dry to support much more than just a few flurries.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Houston/Galveston, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 24, 7:53 PM CST, 1 hour 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 24, 7:53 PM CST, 1 hour 7 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
753 PM CST FRI DEC 24 2004

.DISCUSSION...
HAVE DECIDED TO RE-ISSUE/UPDATE THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SE
TX TO INCLUDE LOCATIONS JUST NORTH OF THE PREVIOUS ADVISORY. BASED
ON RADAR TRENDS...BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE/COULD SEE SNOW ACCUMULATING
OVERNIGHT FOR THESE AREAS AS WELL. THERE IS ALSO SEEING ADDITIONAL
PCPN DEVELOPMENT TO OUR SSW ATTM (AS THE UPPER LOW CONTINUES TO E-
JECT S/WS ACROSS THE REGION). LOOKING OVER THE RECORDS..THERE IS A
VERY REAL AND DISTINCT POSSIBILITY THAT WE (MAINLY FOR IAH AND GLS)
COULD SEE OUR VERY FIRST WHITE CHRISTMAS (THAT IS SINCE WX RECORDS
HAVE BEEN KEPT). NOT PLANNING ON MAKING TOO MANY OTHER CHANGES FOR
THIS EVENING SO WILL KEEP THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PKG PRETTY
MUCH AS IS. 41/46
&&

.PREV UPDATE...
HAVE DECIDED TO GO AHEAD AND POST A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE
SOUTHERN HALF OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS UNTIL 13Z. HAVE GOTTEN A COUPLE OF
REPORTS OF MODERATE SNOW IN THE COUNTIES SOUTHWEST OF HOUSTON. ALSO
REPORT OF SNOW ACCUMULATING ON ROOFTOPS IN COLORADO COUNTY. THE MAIN
CONCERN IS ENOUGH PRECIP FALLING TO GET THE ROADS WET...THEN
REFREEZING ON BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES. 35/42

SOME SNOWFALL FACTS:
TODAYS SNOW IS THE FIRST SNOW TO FALL IN HOUSTON SINCE DECEMBER
17TH 1996 WHEN A TRACE OF SNOW WAS RECORDED. THE LAST TIME HOUSTON
HAD MEASURABLE SNOW OF ANY SIGNIFICANCE WAS ON DECEMBER 22ND 1989
WHEN 1.7 INCHES WAS RECORDED AT INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT. THE
BIGGEST SNOW ON RECORD IN HOUSTON WAS 20.0 INCHES THAT FELL ON
FEBRUARY 14TH-15TH 1895...A TRULY AMAZING RECORD. 35/42
&&

.HGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY SOUTHERN HALF OF SE TX UNTIL 13Z.
SCEC BAYS.
SCA 00-60 NM WATERS.
&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
COLLEGE STATION (CLL)   22 46 27 57 34 / 00 00 00 00 00
HOUSTON (IAH)           26 46 27 56 35 / 30 05 00 00 00
GALVESTON (GLS)         32 46 37 54 45 / 40 10 00 00 00

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 24, 8:48 PM CST, 12 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED FOR ACCUMULATIONS TONIGHT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
848 PM CST FRI DEC 24 2004

TXZ163-164-176>179-195>200-210>214-226-227-235>238-251200-
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-
848 PM CST FRI DEC 24 2004

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE SOUTHERN THREE-QUARTERS OF
SOUTHEAST TEXAS TONIGHT...
...LONG PERIOD OF FREEZING TEMPERATURES TONIGHT AND CHRISTMAS
MORNING...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST TEXAS.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT.
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THAT AREA SOUTH OF A
LINE FROM BRENHAM TO LAKE LIVINGSTON. THIS INCLUDES THE HOUSTON AND
GALVESTON METRO AREAS. AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL CONTINUE TO
BRING LIGHT TO OCCASIONALLY MODERATE SNOW TO THE ADVISORY AREA
TONIGHT. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS FROM 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE
MAINLY FOR LOCATIONS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 10. THE SNOW WILL MELT ON
CONTACT WITH ROADWAYS. HOWEVER...AS TEMPERATURES FALL BELOW FREEZING
THIS EVENING RE-FREEZING COULD OCCUR CREATING ICY CONDITIONS ON
BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES.

MOTORISTS SHOULD USE CAUTION WHILE TRAVELING THIS EVENING. ALLOW EXTRA
TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION. DRIVE AT SLOW SPEEDS AND LEAVE PLENTY
OF ROOM BETWEEN YOU AND THE CAR IN FRONT.

ACROSS ALL BUT THE IMMEDIATE COAST...TEMPERATURES WILL FALL BELOW
FREEZING THIS EVENING AND REMAIN BELOW FREEZING FOR 14 TO 18 HOURS.
TEMPERATURES WILL BOTTOM OUT EARLY CHRISTMAS MORNING IN THE 20S...WITH
TEMPERATURES DIPPING TO NEAR FREEZING ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST.

PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT DELICATE PLANTS AND ANIMALS
FROM THESE VERY COLD CONDITIONS THROUGH CHRISTMAS MORNING. CHECK ON
THE ELDERLY TO MAKE SURE THEY HAVE ADEQUATE HEATING DURING THE COLD
OVERNIGHT HOURS.  MAKE SURE OUTDOOR ANIMALS ARE PROTECTED FROM THESE
SUB FREEZING TEMPERATURES. EXPOSED PIPES ON THE EXTERIOR OF HOMES
SHOULD BE COVERED TO PREVENT FREEZING.

.DAY TWO...CHRISTMAS DAY.
SUNSHINE WILL RETURN TO SOUTHEAST TEXAS ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO WARM
INTO THE 40S IN THE AFTERNOON. ANOTHER FREEZE IS EXPECTED CHRISTMAS
NIGHT FOR ALL BUT THE IMMEDIATE COAST...WITH LOWS IN THE MID 20S TO
LOWER 30S.

.DAYS THREE THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT....
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Matagorda

When: December 24, 9:00 PM CST to December 25, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Matagorda forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 28.786, -96.004 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Jackson

When: December 24, 10:05 PM CST to December 25, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 28.954, -96.578 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Wharton

When: December 24, 11:00 PM CST to December 25, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Wharton forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 29.278, -96.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Fort Bend

When: December 24, 11:30 PM CST to December 25, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Fort Bend forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 29.528, -95.771 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Harris

When: December 24, 11:50 PM CST to December 25, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Harris forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 29.857, -95.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Galveston

When: December 24, 11:50 PM CST to December 25, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Galveston forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 29.298, -94.811 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Chambers

When: December 24, 11:50 PM CST to December 25, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Chambers forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 29.708, -94.671 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Texas in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, December 2004

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5430484, 5430485, 5430486, 5430487, 5430488, 5430489, 5430490.