Click to watch video

HOUSTON—Monday got off to a very chilly start in the Houston area.

Temps were near freezing, and some light sleet was even reported north of I-10.

“We don’t expect (the sleet) to cause any travel problems, but it is kind of fun to see here just a couple of days before Christmas,” 11 News Meteorologist David Paul said.

Houston isn’t the only part of the country dealing with some serious cold.  Paul said things were pretty much frozen all the way from Seattle to Boston.

“Almost the entire country is at or below freezing,” Paul said.

Paul said Bush Intercontinental was officially reporting a temperature of 34 degrees early Monday morning, but that many areas around it were actually a little colder.

And with the wind chill, things felt a lot colder – even down into the 20s.

The high for Monday was only projected to reach 40 degrees, and there is a 30-percent chance for rain throughout the day.

But things are expected to warm up considerably as the week rolls on.

Paul said to expect a 70-percent chance for rain and a high of 67 Tuesday, with temps warming into the 70s by Christmas Day.