Strong cold front and windstorm arrive, but warm weather returns for Christmas

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- After record breaking high temperatures yesterday, a cold, blustery day is hitting the area today and tomorrow. The strong cold front arrived overnight with a line of showers and storms, and sent temperatures down into the mid-50s shortly before sunrise.

This time, the wind will be a bigger story than the cold. Winds behind the front will blow out of the northwest at 25-35 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph near the coast. Gale warnings are up along the coast for this morning and 'low water advisories' have been posted for Galveston and Matagorda Bays, as the strong winds shove water out of the bays and into the Gulf. Tides will run 1-2 feet below normal, which will make navigating the bay and ship channel more treacherous.

Once the winds settle down tonight, expect a widespread light freeze across southeast Texas tomorrow morning as astronomical winter officially begins (5:12am local time).

The run up to Christmas looks very warm after that, but a strong cold front arriving on or around Christmas Day will make it feel like winter again later in the week. There is still a tremendous amount of uncertainty with the timing and strength of the winter storm next week. Stay tuned.

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weather, travis herzog

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