710 
fxus64 khgx 202016 
afdhgx 


Area forecast discussion 
National Weather Service Houston/Galveston Texas 
316 PM CDT Sat Mar 20 2010 


Discussion... 
winter has returned just in time for Spring break to end. Actually 
toyed with the idea of issuing a late season freeze warning tonight 
(and would not doubt to see a few isolated locations bottom out at 
freezing)...but believe with winds remaining up and some cloudiness 
remaining most areas should be OK. Will issue an Special Weather Statement instead and 
let the swing shift look at trends. Think winds should fall below 
advsy criteria north of I-10 tonight but remain up near the coast. 
925mb winds between 30-40kt on Sunday should begin mixing back 
down by middle morning so anticipate a windy cool day. Another cold 
night on tap tomorrow...but fortunately the surface high settles off 
to the west instead of directly overhead. Wrap around cloudiness 
should eventually push all the way east of the County Warning Area Sun night as 
well as it follows the departing upper trough eastward. Onshore flow 
resumes on Tuesday...followed by another front Thursday-ish. There are 
still some some model differences that need to be worked out 
regarding this system...but it sure doesn't look anywhere near as 
strong as todays. Current extended forecast looks OK for now so will 
let it ride for a while until confidence improves. 47 


&& 


Marine... 
small craft conditions will quickly develop as the cold front pushes 
offshore into the open waters of the Gulf late this afternoon. 
Expect that as the cold air moves overhead...that gale conditions 
will develop mainly between 20 and 60 nm of the coast. However... 
gusts to gale force will be possible within 20 nm. The latest model 
guidance pretty much agreed with the previous forecast in slowly 
diminishing the winds Sunday and Sunday night. 40 


&& 


Fire weather... 
rh's should bottom out between 25-30% with northwest winds 20-30 miles per hour and 
gusty on Sunday. Ground should remain damp with radar estimating most 
locations saw between 0.75-2" rain today. Red flag warning not 
anticipated at this time. 47 


&& 


Preliminary point temps/pops... 
College Station (cll) 33 56 34 68 41 / 10 0 0 0 0 
Houston (iah) 34 56 35 68 43 / 10 0 0 0 0 
Galveston (gls) 40 56 43 64 54 / 10 0 0 0 0 


&& 


Hgx watches/warnings/advisories... 
Texas...Wind Advisory from 10 am to 7 PM CDT Sunday for the following 
zones: Austin...Brazos...Burleson...Colorado...Grimes... 
Houston...Liberty...Madison...Montgomery...Polk...San 
Jacinto...Trinity...Walker...Waller...Washington. 


Wind Advisory until 7 PM CDT Sunday for the following zones: 
Brazoria...Chambers...Fort Bend...Galveston...Harris... 
Jackson...Matagorda...Wharton. 


Wind Advisory until 7 PM CDT this evening for the following 
zones: Austin...Brazos...Burleson...Colorado...Grimes... 
Madison...Waller...Washington. 


GM...Small Craft Advisory until 7 PM CDT Sunday for the following 
zones: Galveston Bay...Matagorda Bay...waters from Freeport 
to the Matagorda Ship Channel out 20 nm...waters from High 
Island to Freeport out 20 nm. 


Small Craft Advisory until 7 PM CDT this evening for the 
following zones: waters from Freeport to the Matagorda Ship 
Channel 20 nm to 60 nm...waters from High Island to 
Freeport 20 to 60 nm. 


Small Craft Advisory from 10 am Sunday to 1 am CDT Monday for 
the following zones: waters from Freeport to the Matagorda 
Ship Channel 20 nm to 60 nm...waters from High Island to 
Freeport 20 to 60 nm. 


Gale Warning from 7 PM this evening to 10 am CDT Sunday for the 
following zones: waters from Freeport to the Matagorda Ship 
Channel 20 nm to 60 nm...waters from High Island to 
Freeport 20 to 60 nm. 


&& 


$$