A storm brought a period of freezing rain and significant icing to interior portions of Southeast Texas.
Every event with a place to put it; 12 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS HGX wrote it up.
A storm brought a period of freezing rain and significant icing to interior portions of Southeast Texas.
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 Feb 16, 11:23 PM CST, 37 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX
1123 PM CST Tue Feb 16 2021
.AVIATION [06Z TAF Issuance]...
Precip has been a bit slow to arrive with this new winter storm,
but it is on our doorstep now - both to the northwest of CLL and
coming up on a coastal trough southwest of Matagorda Bay, heading
NE towards the southern terminals. Have tried to refine timing to
reflect most recent data, but otherwise the big picture is on
track. HOU, LBX, and GLS all remain as SHRA/RA, while SGR, IAH,
and CXO all transition from FZRA to SHRA/RA as temperatures slowly
drift upwards. In the north, while there is some chance for a
brief shift to just rain, keep CLL and UTS as FZRA for safety's
sake.
MVFR ceilings have taken over across the area, and further
deterioration into IFR is expected as the storm moves in
overnight. Though (freezing) rain should wind down before evening,
the low ceilings look to persist for some time.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION /Issued 545 PM CST Tue Feb 16 2021/...
.SHORT TERM [Tonight Through Wednesday Night]...
Weather conditions will be deteriorating tonight as low pressure
develops south of the Matagorda Bay area. As this low moves into
our coastal waters overnight and on through the waters Wednesday
morning, light precipitation will develop and spread inland while
shortwaves from the upper trof to our west scrape across the northern
parts of our area. Some icing could develop this evening where
precipitation falls near areas around freezing. The real mess looks
to begin to develop after midnight as the freezing line moves slowly
inland. Expecting increasing precipitation coverage during the
overnight through morning hours with significant icing possible
the further north you go. After looking at area soundings and model
trends, it still looks like locations north of Highway 105 will have
the greatest potential for the highest ice accumulation totals of
around 1/4 inch or higher. If this occurs, there could be devastating
impacts to structures, powerlines and agriculture. Of course, driving
should not occur - Stay home! Even areas south of Highway 105 to the
I-10 corridor will be susceptible to icing with potential totals of
around 1/10 to 1/4 inch (1/10 closer to I-10 and 1/4 closer to Highway
105). Again, the safety risk is too great to get on the roads - Stay
home! Improving conditions do not look to occur until late tomorrow
morning or early tomorrow afternoon when activity starts to come to
an end from west to east. With temperatures not expected to rise much
above freezing tomorrow afternoon (especially up north), any freezing
ice that has accumulated will be sticking around, and any melted ice
will freeze over again tomorrow night through Thursday morning with
temperatures in the 20s/30s.
Hang in there...warmer temperatures are coming! 42
.LONG TERM [Thursday Through Monday]...
Residual moisture in the wake of the departing surface low/cold
front may result in some lingering wintry precipitation heading into
Thursday morning, with light snow showers/sleet/ice pellets a
possibility. That being said, impacts from this spotty precipitation
are likely to be minor in comparison to the weather we anticipate
impacting the area in the immediate term. Behind the departing
system, northerly winds will result in another frigid day across SE
TX, with highs in the mid-30s inland to low 40s near the coast and
widespread overnight lows in the upper teens to low 20s. Actions to
protect people, pets, plants, and pipes from the persistent extreme
cold should be continued during this time.
Yet another unseasonably cold day, though a drier one, is in store
on friday as high pressure remains dominant over the South Central
CONUS. However, as this surface high pushes eastward as we reach
Saturday, a long-awaited warming trend will begin as we finally see
the re-emergence of an onshore flow pattern. As a result, highs on
Saturday break into the 50s while on Sunday temperatures reach the
mid to upper 60s at most locations.
Increasing moisture upon the redevelopment of southerly winds will
push total PWs back towards the vicinity of 1.0 in on Sunday
afternoon. Our next chance at precipitation (thankfully, it looks
like purely a rain event this time) will come on late Sunday/early
Monday as a surface cold front traverses the area and produces
scattered showers. The surge of cold air behind this departing
boundary will be comparatively weaker and far less persistent, with
lows not reaching below freezing in its wake on Monday night and
highs returning to the upper 60s/mid 70s by Tuesday afternoon.
Cady
.MARINE...
Light to moderate east to northeast winds are expected this evening
with gusts from 15 to 20 knots. Marine conditions become hazardous
late tonight ahead of a coastal low moving northward along the upper
Texas coast through Thursday. Gusty conditions and seas from 5 to 8
ft are expected along with scattered showers and a few
thunderstorms. Behind this system, a strong surface high builds in
keeping moderate to strong northwest winds. Therefore, advisory
conditions due to both winds and elevated seas will persist through
late Thursday night. Marine conditions will improve Friday into the
weekend with light south winds and seas up to 3 ft. 05
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
College Station (CLL) 28 23 33 24 32 / 70 20 20 0 0
Houston (IAH) 34 29 37 29 39 / 90 10 10 0 0
Galveston (GLS) 39 36 49 35 43 / 80 10 10 0 0
&&
.HGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...Winter Storm Warning until 6 AM CST Thursday for the following
zones: Austin...Brazos...Burleson...Coastal
Harris...Coastal Jackson...Colorado...Fort
Bend...Grimes...Houston...Inland Harris...Inland
Jackson...Madison...Montgomery...Northern
Liberty...Polk...San Jacinto...Southern
Liberty...Trinity...Walker...Waller...Washington...Wharton.
GM...Small Craft Advisory until noon CST Wednesday for the following
zones: Coastal waters from Freeport to Matagorda Ship
Channel TX out 20 NM...Coastal waters from High Island to
Freeport TX out 20 NM...Galveston Bay...Matagorda
Bay...Waters from Freeport to Matagorda Ship Channel TX
from 20 to 60 NM...Waters from High Island to Freeport TX
from 20 to 60 NM.
SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION until midnight CST tonight
for the following zones: Coastal waters from Freeport to
Matagorda Ship Channel TX out 20 NM...Coastal waters from
High Island to Freeport TX out 20 NM...Waters from Freeport
to Matagorda Ship Channel TX from 20 to 60 NM...Waters from
High Island to Freeport TX from 20 to 60 NM.
&&
SHORT TERM...42
LONG TERM...Cady
AVIATION...Luchs
MARINE...05The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
12 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Period of freezing rain with over a quarter inch ice accretion on objects, some damage to a carport, trees and large limbs down.
Period of freezing rain with an estimated quarter inch of ice accretion on branches.
Period of freezing rain with a measured 2 tenths of an inch ice accretion on branches. Some areas likely quarter inch or greater.
Period of freezing rain with quarter to half inch ice accretion on objects Trees and large limbs down, power impacted .
Period of freezing rain with an estimated half inch ice accretion on objects, some damage to a carport, trees and large limbs down.
Period of freezing rain with an estimated quarter inch ice accretion on objects, some damage to a carport, trees and large limbs down.
Period of freezing rain with an estimated quarter inch ice accretion on objects, some damage to a carport, trees and large limbs down.
Period of freezing rain with up to 0.15 inches of ice accretion measured on branches.
Period of freezing rain with quarter to half inch ice accretion on branches.
Period of freezing rain with up to 0.15 inches of ice accretion measured on branches.
Period of freezing rain with up to 0.15 inches of ice accretion measured on branches.
Period of freezing rain with up to 0.15 inches of ice accretion measured on branches.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, February 2021
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: 942725, 942762, 942763, 942726, 942764, 942874, 942875, 942879, 942761, 942876, 942877, 942878.