A strong cold front will push through Southeast Texas late tonight/early Sunday morning bringing gusty northerly winds, elevated to critical fire weather conditions, and the potential for the first freeze of the season for northern areas. Hazardous marine conditions are also expected with a Gale Watch now in effect for the Gulf waters and the potential for abnormally low water levels in the bays.
A Gale Watch has been issued for the Gulf waters for the Sunday morning-Monday morning timeframe.
Late tonight into early Sunday morning, a strong cold front will push through the area with moderate to strong northerly winds in its wake, prevailing throughout the day on Sunday. Sustained winds throughout the day on Sunday will be in the 20-30 mph range with 30-40 mph wind gusts. A Wind Advisory may be needed for parts of the area. The combination of windy conditions and dry air will lead to elevated to critical fire weather conditions on Sunday and Monday. Minimum relative humidity values on Sunday afternoon will be in the 25-35% range and in the 15-25% range on Monday afternoon. While the driest conditions will hold off till Monday, winds will be the strongest on Sunday. Winds on Monday will start out gusty, but gradually subside throughout the day. The dry and windy conditions will dry out the above to near normal fuel conditions. The Texas A&M Forest Service has outlined Southeast Texas in a very high to extreme forecast fire danger rating for Sunday and high to very high forecast fire danger rating for Monday. A Fire Weather Watch and/or Red Flag Warning may be needed for portions of the area. Please continue to take extra caution especially if working with equipment that can cause sparks. Continue to obey all burn restrictions and local burn bans.
This cold front will bring the coldest air of the season so far, and with that comes the potential for the first freeze of the season for some of our northern counties. On Sunday night and/or Monday night, there is potential for a light freeze for portions of the Brazos Valley and the Piney Woods. Monday night into Tuesday morning looks to be the most favorable. Freeze Watches/Warnings may be needed (Reminder: these are only issued once for a particular county for the first freeze during the growing season). Down below is a graphic that shows the latest probabilities of low temperatures reaching 32 degrees or below on Sunday night and Monday night. These probabilities are slightly higher compared to Friday morning’s email.
Elevated northerly winds persisting through the night on Sunday will make it feel like it’s near or below freezing across the area with wind chill values in the 20s/30s going into Monday morning.
