Yep, it's really going to be cold tonight. This is the night to cover up your tender plants with a sheet or bring them in. Also, don't forget our four-legged friends. Even though they have fur, they're not used to this cold, so make sure you let 'em get warm. Finally, don't forget to check on elderly relatives and neighbors who may not know about the extent of the cold. As you can see from the graphics above, the cold could last for several hours across parts of Southeast Texas.

So far, this year, we've been on a rollercoaster - first warm for a while (remember the 83° on the first Saturday of the New Year?) And now the other shoe drops. Whenever it gets really warm in January, I usually get a little worried. These ups and down are caused by wild fluctuations in the jet stream - the band of high speed high altitude winds that steer weather systems around the world.

Late last week, I blogged about a big push of arctic air that would arrive here this week and its right on schedule. A series of cold fronts will deliver the cold into Texas. We had one last night and another one is on the way for Thursday. The whole pattern finally begins to shift by late in the weekend. So while it will be cold the next few nights, milder more seasonable weather will return by Martin Luther King Day this coming Monday.

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