Heat Miser wrote:I'm not getting excited about the possibility of our northern areas (probably a good 80 miles to my north) getting a few if any ice pellets.
Let's talk about a good 2 to 3 inches of snow, maybe more, and a chance it will stay on the ground more than a day, then I'll get a tad interested.
Been burned way too many times in getting excited about the prospects of frozen precip in this area since my childhood.
I recall as a wee child shining a flashlight out of my window for hours on end in the hopes of seeing anything besides liquid fall.
It was not to be.
Everyone recalls the 2004 Christmas eve miracle. I remember some in the weather business hinting at the possibility of snow that Friday, but none and I mean not one said anything about a full blown coastal white-out with 3 inches in Friendswood and the further south southwest were ridiculous amounts up to 11 inches.
Firmly believe meteorologist in this area don't have a grasp of winter weather as they do normal sub tropical weather patterns such as your typical sea breeze thunderstorm or your Tropical systems.
Can't really be upset with them because the real threats for our area come from the Gulf and your rare super cell.
Actually, there were predictions of significant snowfall (that means a half inch+ in Houston). The system took a leap from the Hill Country to the coast. My kids and I drove down in a Dodge van down 290 towards H-town from College Station. Snow began to fall as we reached FM1960. We grabbed some lunch and headed to my wife's brother near I-10. But the time we arrived, the streets were mushy and 1-2 inches had stuck on the grass. While we drove down Gaesser, the thermostat stuck. True story - the minivan overheated in the snow on Christmas Eve! There was only on gas/service station open - we limped in and walked to brother in law's pad a few blocks away.
Blew out the #1 cylinder...my wife eventually drove down...and by then were were 3-4 inches of snow on ground. I traded in the Dodge 2 weeks later after it was "fixed." Unforgettable in so many ways.