December 2015 -Year Ends As One Of Wettest On Record

[nuby3]

interesting to note that eagle pass reporting station was forecasted a high of 51F, but only made it to 41F briefly before rain moved back in and it dropped back to 37F. High busted by ten degrees

[Cromagnum]

No surprises here. All week hype of the storm, but the cap always holds a tight lid over Houston. Not that I want storms mind you, but we seem to never see the wolves that are called for.

I wouldn't declare that just yet. The front is crawling east and we still have a couple of hours of heating left. With some breaks in the clouds now appearing on satellite, it might be enough to bust the cap. Sometimes when these things finally trigger, it happens very quickly. There is a tremendous amount of wind energy so folks should keep a very close watch out until this is over.

I stand by what I said. Any severe stuff will hit well NE of Houston, if at all.

[Ptarmigan]

interesting to note that eagle pass reporting station was forecasted a high of 51F, but only made it to 41F briefly before rain moved back in and it dropped back to 37F. High busted by ten degrees

10 degrees off would be a bust for sure.

[Ptarmigan]

No surprises here. All week hype of the storm, but the cap always holds a tight lid over Houston. Not that I want storms mind you, but we seem to never see the wolves that are called for.

I wouldn't declare that just yet. The front is crawling east and we still have a couple of hours of heating left. With some breaks in the clouds now appearing on satellite, it might be enough to bust the cap. Sometimes when these things finally trigger, it happens very quickly. There is a tremendous amount of wind energy so folks should keep a very close watch out until this is over.

Exactly. It is not over until it is over.

[srainhoutx]

cold air just reached us in Cypress

Front has arrived here now.

[Ounce]

Weatherbug shows the front has made it to Tomball and one of the sites in the Woodlands. Also, Katy and Huntsville.

[srainhoutx]

MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 2088
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
0319 PM CST SUN DEC 27 2015

AREAS AFFECTED...SOUTHEAST TX

CONCERNING...TORNADO WATCH 571...

VALID 272119Z - 272315Z

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR TORNADO WATCH 571 CONTINUES.

SUMMARY...A CONTINUED TORNADO THREAT AND AN INCREASING THREAT FOR
DAMAGING WINDS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS SOUTHEAST TX...INCLUDING THE
HOUSTON METRO AREA...AND POSSIBLY TO THE COAST. WFO-HGX /WITH SPC
COORDINATION/ HAS EXTENDED THE EXPIRATION TIME OF A PORTION OF WW
571 UNTIL 01Z /7 PM CST/.

DISCUSSION...A STRONGER LOBE OF VORTICITY IS MOVING THROUGH DEEP
SOUTH TX TOWARD THE EAST-NORTHEAST. FORCING FOR ASCENT WITH THIS
FEATURE WILL CONTINUE TO AID IN SURFACE LOW DEEPENING ALONG THE COLD
FRONT IN SOUTHEAST TX /CURRENTLY IN SOUTHWEST MONTGOMERY COUNTY/.
THIS FORCING MAY ALSO ENHANCE THE FORWARD MOVEMENT OF THE COLD FRONT
AND ATTENDANT THREAT FOR DAMAGING WINDS WITH STORMS ALONG THIS
BOUNDARY. OTHERWISE...THE COMBINATION OF MODERATE INSTABILITY IN
PLACE ACROSS SOUTHEAST TX AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT AND STRONG
LOW-LEVEL AND DEEP-LAYER SHEAR /SFC-1-KM OF 40 KT AND SFC-6-KM
EXCEEDING 50 KT...RESPECTIVELY/ CONTINUE TO FAVOR AN ENVIRONMENT FOR
TORNADIC SUPERCELLS INTO THE EARLY EVENING.

..PETERS/MEAD.. 12/27/2015


ATTN...WFO...LCH...SHV...HGX...FWD...

[Ounce]

The front just passed the Ikea on the Katy Freeway.

[nuby3]

already down to 55 F here - Western end of The Woodlands prkwy

[houstonia]

In the 50's in southwest Houston. We had no bad storms and no heavy rainfall. Lots of wind and rain showers is all.

[cperk]

53.2 degrees and falling here in Richmond.

[DoctorMu]

5.5 in of rain IMBY since last night.

[Katdaddy]

Just had marble sized hail N of Ft Worth in Roanoke.

[kayci]

Heavy downpours and temps dropping quickly in Brazoria County/Alvin....

[nuby3]

I've been wondering if stuff like the cells between Austin and San Antonio might offer some bursts of sleet with their passing

[DoctorMu]

I've been wondering if stuff like the cells between Austin and San Antonio might offer some bursts of sleet with their passing

Frozen Mischief approaching Lake Travis.

[srainhoutx]

Evening briefing from Jeff:

Strong cold front has just about pushed through all of SE TX with temperatures having fallen into the 40’s and 50’s across the area.

Exit of the cold front will end any remaining tornado threat which never really materialize over the region. Suspect shear values were just too much for the overall weak updrafts (lack of instability), but this is about the third time this fall where severe parameters looked good and actual severe verification has not occurred.

Potent upper level low location between Del Rio and Sonora west of San Antonio is spreading a band of strong lift over the top of the deepening cold air at the surface. The result has been a band of strong thunderstorms currently along the I-35 corridor moving eastward. Some of the these storms have been prodigious hail producers with some location seeing ½ inch size hail covering the ground. Band of weather will advance quickly into SE TX this evening and would not be surprised to see reports of hail with this activity as very cold temperatures aloft within the core of the upper low advance eastward.

Full scale blizzard continues over W TX with snow drifts ranging from 5-10 feet in some areas. Winds continue to howl on the west side of the surface low with frequent gusts of 50-65mph from SW OK into WC TX. Ground blizzard conditions and heavy snow will continue much of the night with potentially historic accumulations possible in some areas. Nearly all major interstates across W TX are closed with TXDOT crews unable to maintain cleared roadways. Very strong winds have been resulting in significant drifting with some vehicles completely buried in some areas of Lubbock and Amarillo. Will not see much improvement until midday Monday.

Wrap around snow will likely reach into the Hilly Country and may even reach to the I-35 corridor early Monday around Waco.

Have spent very little time on the extended the last few days with such active short term weather. Overall return of winter will remain locked in place all week with additional shots of cold air moving southward down the plains. Recent record warmth will feel abruptly different this week with highs in the 40’s and 50’s and lows in the 30’s and 40’s.

A couple of quick systems may bring some light rains Tuesday night and early Wednesday and again towards New Year’s Day.

Will have a complete write up on the devastating Garland/Rowlett Tornado tomorrow. Tornado deaths for 2015 have been tripled in the last 5 days over the southern US…with more fatalities in the last 5 days than all of 2015 up to the 23rd.

[srainhoutx]

As the severe aspect of our Big Storm slowly begins to transition E, I want to personally thank all of you that have participated, be it by your posting contributors or posting information on our Social Media feeds. It is because of you, our fantastic members that good and timely information was passed along to our Families, friends and those that needed reliable information. To the new folks that registered and have recently become involved, we welcome you. We have a partnership with the National Weather Service and NOAA that is very well respected for providing information to the General Public. This partnership was a coordinated effort that was pushed from the local, State and National level this year. Thank you ALL for your efforts. You our KHOU Weather Community members is why we have earned the respect we have. You all should be proud of what this online Weather Community has grown to become...the go to place for good and reliable weather information. Kudos Gang.

[kayci]

Couldn't do it without you Srain... Thank you so much for helping us!!! Kudos to you!!

[Ptarmigan]

Evening briefing from Jeff:

Strong cold front has just about pushed through all of SE TX with temperatures having fallen into the 40’s and 50’s across the area.

Exit of the cold front will end any remaining tornado threat which never really materialize over the region. Suspect shear values were just too much for the overall weak updrafts (lack of instability), but this is about the third time this fall where severe parameters looked good and actual severe verification has not occurred.

Potent upper level low location between Del Rio and Sonora west of San Antonio is spreading a band of strong lift over the top of the deepening cold air at the surface. The result has been a band of strong thunderstorms currently along the I-35 corridor moving eastward. Some of the these storms have been prodigious hail producers with some location seeing ½ inch size hail covering the ground. Band of weather will advance quickly into SE TX this evening and would not be surprised to see reports of hail with this activity as very cold temperatures aloft within the core of the upper low advance eastward.

Full scale blizzard continues over W TX with snow drifts ranging from 5-10 feet in some areas. Winds continue to howl on the west side of the surface low with frequent gusts of 50-65mph from SW OK into WC TX. Ground blizzard conditions and heavy snow will continue much of the night with potentially historic accumulations possible in some areas. Nearly all major interstates across W TX are closed with TXDOT crews unable to maintain cleared roadways. Very strong winds have been resulting in significant drifting with some vehicles completely buried in some areas of Lubbock and Amarillo. Will not see much improvement until midday Monday.

Wrap around snow will likely reach into the Hilly Country and may even reach to the I-35 corridor early Monday around Waco.

Have spent very little time on the extended the last few days with such active short term weather. Overall return of winter will remain locked in place all week with additional shots of cold air moving southward down the plains. Recent record warmth will feel abruptly different this week with highs in the 40’s and 50’s and lows in the 30’s and 40’s.

A couple of quick systems may bring some light rains Tuesday night and early Wednesday and again towards New Year’s Day.

Will have a complete write up on the devastating Garland/Rowlett Tornado tomorrow. Tornado deaths for 2015 have been tripled in the last 5 days over the southern US…with more fatalities in the last 5 days than all of 2015 up to the 23rd.

If the main low was further south, I suspect severe weather would of been more likely in Southeast Texas.