Today’s cover picture is ME (I know--29 years old) back in 1989 forecasting a VERY COLD Houston Christmas weekend. That year we dropped to 13 on the 22nd, 7 on the 23rd and 11 on the 24th. Christmas Day started at 20°! And you’ll notice the almost 2″ of snow the 22nd. An arctic outbreak covered almost the entire nation and even Key West dropped to a record 44°!
Certainly that cold snap takes first place for Christmas cold and here is an explainer from the National Weather Service on what happened.
In 2nd place, a lot of you will remember Christmas 2004. Our Low Temps only dropped to just below freezing that year, but plunged enough to produce some impressive snow amounts south of Houston.
RELATED: Houston History: A look back at 2004, Southeast Texas’ white Christmas
While the photo above shows our dusting in Houston, we were actually building snowmen on the beach in Galveston that year! The National Weather Service put together an interesting article on how that snowmageddon happened.
Our Christmas by the numbers show all the extremes over the years:
So while anything can happen, this year looks to unwrap a perfect present! I’m forecasting a Christmas morning low around 50° and a high near 60° all under sunny skies! To make the day even more spectacular, the moon will be 99.2% FULL Christmas evening (technically full the next night, but close enough!).
I’m off next week so I’ll see you back here in 2024! Have a happy and safe Christmas and wonderful New Year!
Frank
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