The record temperature for January 3 is 25 degrees. We're not gonna lie, 25 degrees is damn cold for Houston, Texas, USA. When friends who are from more northern climbs laugh at our suffering, we just remind them to check with us in August. But, don't be surprised if we get down to that number early morning on Wednesday.

Today should remain at or below the freezing mark with some occasional light freezing drizzle. No one is expecting the snow storm of a month ago ("storm" being a relative term), but some occasional sleet, freezing rain or even a few flurries are possible and have already been sighted around the region. For now, expect temperatures hovering around the freezing mark with wind chills into the teens (yes, teens) the rest of today. But, the clouds are going to clear later today, which will make way for MUCH colder temperatures tonight.

Clouds tend to trap warmer air close to the surface of the earth, muting temperatures. As those clouds clear, the mercury will drop and we will see a hard freeze across the entire southeast Texas coastline. Temperatures will range from just below or right at freezing near the coast to the low twenties or maybe even a few teens farther inland in places like Montgomery County.

If you haven't wrapped up your plants and pipes, now is the time. And if you haven't brought your pets in, let us know where you live so we can come pick them up and take them to a family that will care for them correctly.

But, we digress.

By tomorrow afternoon, sunny skies should help us rebound to near 40 degrees. We should see another freeze overnight Wednesday, but it most of Houston proper will remain very close to 32, not the hard freeze we are expecting early morning on Wednesday.

The good news is it should be absolutely beautiful by Thursday with highs in the 50s and lows in the mid to upper 30s until around Saturday when warmer air off the Gulf starts to intrude. We could see 70 degrees on Sunday with some rain chances increasing ahead of a front.

But, at the moment, our biggest concern is very cold weather throughout not just Texas but the entirety of the eastern United States. Fortunately, our pain will be over much more quickly than folks in the northeast.

