With a cold airmass in place, a low pressure system brought a period of snow to inland portions of Southeast Texas. Several inches of snow fall over some counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 11 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.
With a cold airmass in place, a low pressure system brought a period of snow to inland portions of Southeast Texas. Several inches of snow fall over some counties.
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 Jan 10, 11:43 AM CST, 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX
1143 AM CST Sun Jan 10 2021
.AVIATION...
Lowering ceilings and visibilities (VFR to MVFR to IFR to maybe LIFR)
can be expected this afternoon. Areas of RA/SHRA will prevail across
the southern TAF sites (GLS/LBX/SGR/HOU) with SN further off to the
N (CXO/UTS/CLL) where the colder temperatures are located. Keeping IAH
as RA so far and will watch closely. Gusty NE to N winds will be found
across much of the area (especially closer to the coast) under a tightening
pressure gradient. Precip will not come to an end until the overnight
hours (roughly in a 06Z-09Z timeframe) from W to E as some drier air
begins to infiltrate the area. Winds will also decrease overnight, and
ceilings are expected to begin to show a slow improvement as the day
progresses tomorrow. 42
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 433 AM CST Sun Jan 10 2021/
..Winter weather event setting up this afternoon into the
overnight hours...
SHORT TERM [Through Monday Night]...
Lead shortwave passing thru the area with areas of -ra early this
morning. This particular disturbance should be exiting in the next
couple hours. Look for additional activity to develop to our west
this morning and again begin overspreading the area with the
development of a coastal low, approaching upper trof and
associated large scale lift.
General reasoning remains the same for the transition the wintery
wx has been talked about for days so not planning to rehash that
(approaching upper trof, coastal low, impressive moisture and
lowering temp profiles aloft, etc).
Recent trends, changes, updates & notes?
- Storm track has edged a touch south.
- This will allow cooler temps aloft to spread in a bit sooner and
a begin transition to a rain-snow mix across northern parts of
the CWA during the day.
- Upgraded Houston & San Jacinto Co's to Winter Storm
Warnings...mainly for the potential 2"+ accumulations across the
northern 1/4 of those locations.
- With the southward trend, have added a Winter Weather Advisory
for Montgomery, Waller and Austin Counties.
- Potential for higher accumulations. Nudged fcst up some.
- Amounts will be tricky. In general, 2-5" amounts are forecast
in the Winter Storm Warning area. Localized higher swaths can
be anticipated if/where a zone if stronger frontogenesis sets
up. Been burned numerous times on this, but eyeing locations
from Huntsville to Crockett as the possible more favored area
if I was forced to pick.
- Most of the guidance one sees on the internet is based on a
10:1 ratio...meaning 1" of liquid would be be equivalent of 10"
of snow. Ratio's shouldn't be quite that high in this case
hence lower total amounts.
- In addition, temps near the sfc will be above freezing which
brings into question when frozen precip starts to actually
begin accumulating. It'll eventually happen, especially with
higher rates, but timing is questionable.
- Though a wintery mix could extend south of the warning & advsy
area, we should see a fairly tight zone of accumulation/no-
accumulation in that area.
- Precip should taper off from west-to-east in the 8pm-3am
timeframe as drier mid level air moves in.
- Issued a wind advisory near the coast in association with
tightening pressure gradient and strengthening winds.
Cold, cloudy and breezy on Monday. Should see a light freeze
almost everywhere Monday night except at the beaches. 47
LONG TERM [Tuesday Through Sunday]...
With surface high pressure settling atop the region Tues, we could
see another night of freezing/below freezing temperatures over the
northern half of the CWA Tues night into early Weds morning. Light
to calm winds/clearing skies should allow for approximately 4 to 6
hours of freezing/below freezing temperatures for locations gener-
ally along and north of 1-10. As this high slowly drifts across SE
TX with time, there should be plenty of sun and to warm daytime HI
temperatures from the upper 40/lower 50s on Tues to around 60s for
Weds. As the center of the high drifts into the northern Gulf, the
development of light SW winds on Thurs should raise temperatures a
bit more (mid to upper 60s).
Aloft, there are still some discrepancies regarding the timing and
strength of the next shortwave, but overall model trends have this
system tracking over/through the area by late Weds. In its wake, a
more pronounced NW flow is progged to set up aloft...and is support-
ive of the idea that we'll get our next cold front into/across the
CWA late Thurs/Fri. Rain chances should be slim with this FROPA as
a strong cap will be in place and overall moisture limited. Colder
temperatures to return across SE TX by Sat. 41
MARINE...
Moderate easterly winds are bringing SCA conditions for the bays and
Gulf waters. Expect the winds to increase to near 25 knots as an
area of low pressure approaches the offshore waters from the west.
These moderate to strong easterly/southeasterly winds will build up
the seas to 8-11 feet by Sunday afternoon. Expect some higher
run-up and risk of rip currents during high tides on Sunday. Winds
will continue to increase this afternoon and evening in
association with the coastal low and gale force winds are expected
so the SCA will transition into a Gale Warning at 4pm Sunday
through 4am Monday). As the coastal low passes, expect
northwesterly flow to slowly diminish, though remain elevated
into Monday evening. Daily low water advisories will likely be
needed through the first half of the week during low tide cycles.
A surface high moves through the region on Wednesday night and
slides southeastward into the central Gulf. This will bring
southwesterly winds to the area that will persist until the next
cold front on Friday morning reintroduces offshore winds. 26
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
College Station (CLL) 40 31 42 28 49 / 100 80 0 0 0
Houston (IAH) 41 34 45 32 52 / 90 90 0 0 0
Galveston (GLS) 47 38 47 38 51 / 90 90 10 0 0
&&
.HGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...Winter Storm Warning until 6 AM CST Monday for the following
zones: Brazos...Burleson...Grimes...Houston...Madison...
Polk...San Jacinto...Trinity...Walker...Washington.
High Rip Current Risk until 7 PM CST this evening for the
following zones: Brazoria Islands...Galveston Island and
Bolivar Peninsula...Matagorda Islands.
Wind Advisory until 3 AM CST Monday for the following zones:
Brazoria Islands...Coastal Brazoria...Coastal Galveston...
Coastal Jackson...Coastal Matagorda...Galveston Island and
Bolivar Peninsula...Matagorda Islands.
Winter Weather Advisory until 6 AM CST Monday for the following
zones: Austin...Montgomery...Waller.
GM...Small Craft Advisory until 4 AM CST Monday for the following
zones: Galveston Bay...Matagorda Bay.
Gale Warning until 4 AM CST Monday 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.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1029 AM CST SUN JAN 10 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0910 AM SLEET 5 SSW TODD MISSION 30.19N 95.86W
01/10/2021 E0.1 INCH WALLER TX PUBLIC
SLEET REPORTED IN NORTHEAST WALLER COUNTY.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1037 AM CST SUN JAN 10 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0938 AM SLEET 4 ENE COLLEGE STATION 30.62N 96.30W
01/10/2021 E0.1 INCH BRAZOS TX PUBLIC
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT OF SLEET NEAR BRYAN, TX.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1105 AM CST SUN JAN 10 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1103 AM SLEET 5 E WELLBORN 30.53N 96.22W
01/10/2021 E0.1 INCH BRAZOS TX TRAINED SPOTTER
SPOTTER REPORTED HEAVY SLEET NEAR TEXAS
WORLD SPEEDWAY IN COLLEGE STATION, TX.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1122 AM CST SUN JAN 10 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1114 AM SLEET NAVASOTA 30.39N 96.09W
01/10/2021 E0.1 INCH GRIMES TX PUBLIC
PUBIC REPORTED SLEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA NEAR
NAVASOTA, TX.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1127 AM CST SUN JAN 10 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1056 AM SLEET 3 ENE SPRING 30.11N 95.37W
01/10/2021 E0.1 INCH MONTGOMERY TX BROADCAST MEDIA
MEDIA REPORTED SLEET NEAR BIRNHAM WOODS IN
NORTHEAST OF SPRING, TX.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX
1129 AM CST SUN JAN 10 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1045 AM SLEET TOMBALL 30.10N 95.62W
01/10/2021 E0.1 INCH HARRIS TX PUBLIC
PUBLIC REPORTED SLEET NEAR TOMBALL, TX WITH
SOME LIGHT ACCUMULATION.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 winter storm, 2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Four to six inches of snow fell over northern portions of the county with a mixture of snow and sleet in the southern part leading to 2 to 3 inches of accumulation there. Some local amounts of greater than 6 inches were observed over far northern parts of the county.
Four to six inches of snow fell over northern portions of the county with a mixture of snow and sleet in the southern part leading to 2 to 3 inches of accumulation there. Some local amounts of greater than 6 inches were observed over far northern parts of the county.
Four to six inches of snow fell over northern portions of the county with a mixture of snow and sleet in the southern part leading to 2 to 3 inches of accumulation.
Four to six inches of snow fell over northern portions of the county with a mixture of snow and sleet in the southern part leading to 2 to 3 inches of accumulation.
Four to six inches of snow fell over northern portions of the county with a mixture of snow and sleet in the southern part leading to 2 to 3 inches of accumulation.
One to three inches of snow and sleet fell over the area with northern portions of the counties receiving the higher amounts. Average accumulations across the counties around 2 inches.
One to three inches of snow and sleet fell over the area with northern portions of the counties receiving the higher amounts. Average accumulations across the counties around 2 inches.
Six to 8 inches of snow fell across Madison and Houston counties.
Six to 8 inches of snow fell across Madison and Houston counties.
One to three inches of snow and sleet fell over the area with northern portions of the counties receiving the higher amounts. Average accumulations across the counties around 2 inches.
One to three inches of snow and sleet fell over the area with northern portions of the counties receiving the higher amounts. Average accumulations across the counties around 2 inches.
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, January 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: 939021, 939022, 939023, 939024, 939026, 939033, 939035, 939028, 939029, 939036, 939038.