Taylor Aiken asked me this question, and he even listed some of the coldest days we’ve had in recent years from hard freezes, snow events, and even sleet. But here’s what might surprise him, our winters aren’t actually getting colder; they’re getting warmer.
Let’s start with this winter:
Back in October 2024, I shared my winter forecast. Meteorological winter runs from December 1 to February 28, and with a La Niña in the mix, we expected warmer-than-average temperatures in Houston.
So, how do you think we did? If you guess this winter was cold and below average, you’d be wrong. (Sorry, Taylor)
Understanding the difference between climate and weather:
When I talk to children at schools about weather and climate, I like to put it this way: Weather is the clothes you’re wearing today. Climate is the clothes in your closet.
So yes, we had some bitterly cold days this winter in Houston. Those were the days we had to pull out our warmest outfits, but when you look at the whole season, it was actually 3.8° warmer than average.
And it’s not just this winter; Climate Central looked back to 1970 and found that Houston now has 20 fewer nights below freezing than it did back then. Here’s what that looks like:
You might also be surprised to learn Houston averages 11 days below freezing each year. But do you remember 2023? That was the year the mosquitoes never left because we never froze!
When it comes to hard freezes i.e., 24° or colder, Houston typically gets about two per year. This winter, we had one on January 22, when temperatures dropped to 20°.
The last time we had more than two was back in 2022 when we recorded three in December. In 2011, we had five.
What a warmer winter means:
The biggest issue with warmer winters in Houston? Early blooms mean more pollen, which is rough for allergy sufferers. The second problem? More disease-carrying insects.
Snowpack isn’t something we worry about here, but I did look into it recently—you can read about that here.
Lately, I’ve also been getting a lot of questions about planting. Houston’s average last freezing date is February 15. But simply by reading above, you don’t want to trust average.
Normally, I say wait until after spring break. As recently as 2022, we hit freezing on March 12 and 13, but looking at this year’s long-range data? Go for it! I don’t see anything near freezing in the next 2-3 weeks.
