Batten down the hatches – how to survive the next 24 hours of stormy weather

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Already the clouds are gathering, the wind is stiffening, and the omens are looming. Within the next hour or so, The Woodlands will start feeling the battering force of a winter storm unleashed.

As the pressure craters, the sun will be completely blotted out of the sky by extensive cloud coverage, and these clouds are filled to the bursting point with precipitation. It won’t be snow or sleet, but the winds gusting up to 15 mph and the high temperature of only 43 degrees (which we’ve just hit and are already dropping beneath) mean that this will be frigid rain designed to sting the face and turn the roads treacherous.

From midafternoon today through the early hours of tomorrow morning, expect nearly two inches of rain to be dropped. It might be more accurate to say ‘flung,’ as the winds will whip the droplets diagonally or even horizontally from time to time.

The rains will continue all night long, and finally start to dwindle in the dawn hours, hopefully moving completely on by nine o’clock tomorrow morning. Though the low temperature won’t get below 36 tonight, the wetness in the windy air will make it feel like we’re in sub-zero (Centigrade, that is) temperatures from this afternoon until nearly lunchtime tomorrow.

In short, keep an eye on the weather – the best way is to follow Woodlands Online on social media, @WoodlandsOnline on most major platforms – between now and quitting time today. Plan for some gnarly traffic on the commute home. Be sure phones and battery packs are fully charged and crank up the furnace thermostat at your first opportunity to warm up the house more in case power fails during the night.

Naturally, plants and pets need to be brought indoors. While this isn’t pipe-wrapping weather, the odds of some of us losing electricity tonight are in the realm of probability, so have candles, flashlights, and blankets handy. If you are one of the foresighted few who have a portable generator ready, be sure you have plenty of gasoline and oil, and refamiliarize yourself with safety protocols when running fueled generators.

While it’s advisable to eat dinner at home tonight, barring any weather shifts tomorrow you should be able to enjoy dining out at any of our area restaurants tomorrow night. Be prepared for businesses that are typically open in the evening to close their doors early today. Plan accordingly, but there is no reason at all to panic-purchase an entire supply of toilet paper or bottled water. The next 24 hours might be what some would call ‘hinky,’ but it’s only 24 hours.

Fortunately, after this deluge, we’ll slowly but surely start a warming trend, although the Friday night low will be 30 and possibly put ice on the roads. While the clouds will remain, mostly the precipitation will be a thing of the past. Our high temperatures will creep up through the 40s into the 50s, and within the next ten days or so we might even be enjoying some weather in the 60s.