HOUSTON – After a day and night of freezing weather, the Houston area is expected to thaw out Saturday, but early in the morning there could be some icy roadways remaining, 11 News Chief Meteorologist Gene Norman said.
A Hard Freeze Warning is in effect until 10 a.m. Saturday. --That means remaining moisture on elevated roadways, ramps or bridges could re-freeze, so travel could still be treacherous early Saturday morning, he said.
But things will get better.
“High pressure will give us a nice weekend, we’ll be able to thaw out, temperatures will get into the 50s Saturday, 60s on Sunday,” Norman said. “Lots of sunshine, but it will still be cool.”
The lows are expected to be in the 20s Saturday, and on Sunday the lows will be in the 30s.
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Cold weather tips to protect your pipes, pets and plants
Check flights at Bush Intercontinental
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The problem is, Norman said there are two more cold fronts on the way next week – one of which could bring the possibility of more winter precipitation.
The first will arrive Monday night, dropping temperatures but without any rain.
The second blast of Arctic air will hit the Houston area Tuesday night into Wednesday, and that one could bring some trouble.
However brief, the weekend’s warmer weather will come as a relief to everyone in the Houston area.
Friday morning, there were some northern communities that saw a light dusting of snow, but the rest of us got nothing but ice.
Some elevated roads became entirely impassable, and authorities were forced to shut down all area tollways.
Other roads proved to be deadly.
In Montgomery County, two people were killed in an ice-related crash on State Highway 105.
On I-10, a man was killed by a sliding car after he got out to check on his own disabled vehicle.
In all, authorities responded to hundreds of accidents.
At the airports, icy runways and bridges prompted mass flight cancellations and delays. Flights began arriving at Bush IAH at 5 a.m. but major operations weren’t expected to return to normal until late Friday morning at the earliest. At Hobby, Southwest Airlines hoped to be up and running again by noon.
Still, travelers were advised to check the status of their flights before leaving for either airport.
Elsewhere in the state, communities were hit even harder by the winter weather.
Parts of the Dallas area got as much as 6 inches of snow, further hampering Super Bowl plans.
At least six people were injured while clearing snow and ice from Cowboys Stadium.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
