Houston snapped awake to near-freezing air on Tuesday morning and is now staring down a blast of summertime warmth, with forecasts hinting at 90 degrees by the weekend. It is the kind of rapid-fire flip that has gardeners, weekend planners, and anyone slow to swap out their closets scrambling as the city trades jackets for shorts in just a few days.
Before sunrise, temperatures sank into the upper 20s from the Brazos Valley into parts of the Piney Woods, much of Southeast Texas shivered in the 30s, and coastal areas held in the 40s. That chill triggered a Freeze Warning shortly after midnight for counties north of Houston. Those early morning readings are listed on the National Weather Service Houston/Galveston page, which also urged residents to shield sensitive plants and crops from the cold.
Warmup arrives fast
Forecast models and local meteorologists expect a sharp warmup. Highs are set to rebound into the mid 70s by Wednesday, then jump into the mid-to-upper 80s by Friday, with the potential to reach around 90 degrees on Saturday. That spike could be enough to break a daily high-temperature record by roughly three degrees, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Why the quick flip
A strengthening upper-level ridge over the southwestern United States is set to pump warmer air into Texas and push temperatures higher through the middle of the week, while a cold front is still projected to sweep through late Sunday and bring a cooldown. According to the National Weather Service Houston/Galveston forecast discussion, the ridge will elevate 850-millibar temperatures, and the front could spark a narrow band of showers along with gusty northerly winds as it passes.
For gardeners and anyone with outdoor plants, the rapid swing means frost-sensitive greenery should stay covered through the cold spell, and potted plants may need to be hustled back outside once the mild air moves in. If you are planning to spend time outside this weekend, keep an eye on hourly forecasts. Saturday afternoon is expected to feel more like summer than spring, and the late Sunday front could briefly make things unsettled. For context, Houston typically does not log its first 90-degree day until around Memorial Day based on 30-year climate averages, which makes a 90 in early March noteworthy, according to the Houston Chronicle.
