Houston isn't exactly a winter wonderland. Most of the year, we're basically living in a giant, humid sauna where the biggest weather concern is whether the AC can keep up with a 100-degree afternoon. But every once in a while, the sky does something weird. It drops white stuff. Actual, honest-to-god snow. If you're asking when was the last time it snowed in Houston, the answer depends entirely on how you define "snow."
Are we talking about a few pathetic flakes that melt before they hit the pavement? Or are we talking about the kind of historic, grid-shattering event that stays in your memory forever?
Most locals will immediately point to February 2021. That was the big one. The "Great Texas Freeze." But technically, we’ve seen traces since then. Weather is finicky like that.
The Most Recent Flurries: A Technicality
If you want to be pedantic about it—and meteorologists at the National Weather Service (NWS) usually are—the last time Houston saw recorded snow was January 16, 2024.
It wasn't much. Honestly, if you blinked or slept in, you missed it. An Arctic blast pushed temperatures down into the teens, and while most of the city just dealt with a brutal "dry" cold, several neighborhoods on the north and west sides reported light dusting and ice pellets. Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), which is the official record-keeping site for the city, noted light wintry precipitation. It wasn't enough to build a snowman. It wasn't even enough to cover a blade of grass for more than ten minutes. But it counts in the record books.
Before that, we had a very brief encounter on December 22-23, 2022. That was the "Flash Freeze" right before Christmas. While it was mostly a wind-chill event that threatened the Texas power grid again, there were reports of "snownadoes" (not a real thing, just blowing dust and light flakes) and actual flurries in Pearland and Sugar Land.
But let’s be real. When people ask about the last time it snowed, they aren't looking for a "trace" amount on a METAR report. They want to know about the time the city stopped.
Winter Storm Uri: The One We Can't Forget
The real answer to when was the last time it snowed in Houston in a way that actually mattered was February 14-15, 2021.
Valentine’s Day 2021 was a nightmare.
While the rest of the country watches a couple of inches of snow and wonders why Texans lose their minds, we were dealing with a catastrophic failure of infrastructure. It wasn't just the 1 to 4 inches of snow that blanketed the Bayou City; it was the fact that the temperature plummeted to 13°F. That is record-breaking territory for Southeast Texas.
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I remember walking outside in the Heights and seeing the snow actually sticking to the palm trees. It looked like a postcard from a place that wasn't Houston. But the novelty wore off fast. The ERCOT power grid began to fail. Millions of us sat in the dark for days. Pipes burst in attics, flooding living rooms with freezing water.
Why 2021 Was Different
- Duration: Usually, Houston snow melts in three hours. This stayed for days because the temperature didn't rise above freezing.
- Impact: It wasn't just "pretty." It was a billion-dollar disaster.
- The "Thump": Meteorologists noticed a specific band of heavy moisture that moved over the city late Sunday night into Monday morning. It was high-ratio snow, meaning it was fluffy and dry—rare for our humid air.
Space City Weather, run by Eric Berger and Matt Lanza, became the only source of sanity for most of us during that week. They tracked the "low" as it swung across the Gulf, pulling in moisture that shouldn't have been there. It was a statistical anomaly. A once-in-a-generation fluke.
The 2017 Surprise: A Pre-Christmas Gift
If you want a "happy" snow memory, you have to go back to December 7-8, 2017.
This one caught everyone off guard. It was a Thursday night. I remember being at a bar in Midtown and someone yelled, "It's snowing!" We all laughed. Then we looked outside.
Big, fat flakes.
Houstonians abandoned their dinners and ran into the streets. Unlike 2021, the power stayed on. The pipes didn't burst. It was just... magic. Parts of the city got 2 to 3 inches. Because it happened at night and the ground was relatively warm, it didn't cause the mass pile-ups on I-45 that we usually see. It was the "perfect" Houston snow. It showed up, looked pretty for Instagram, and was gone by noon the next day.
A Look Back at Houston's Snow History
Houston has a weird relationship with the cold. We are technically a humid subtropical climate. Snow is an intruder here.
If you look at the historical data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Houston averages about one snow event every three years. But "event" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence. Often, that "event" is just a few ice pellets hitting a car windshield in Katy.
Check out these notable moments from the past:
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The 2009 Christmas Eve Miracle
This is the one the old-timers talk about. On December 24, 2009, much of the Gulf Coast got a dusting. It was the first "White Christmas" in recorded history for some parts of the region. It didn't stick for long, but seeing snow on Christmas Eve in a place where people usually wear shorts to church was surreal.
The 2004 Christmas Eve Snow
A massive storm hit the Texas coast. While the heaviest snow stayed south of Houston (Galveston and Victoria got hammered), it still stands as a legendary weather event for the state. Victoria, Texas, got 12 inches. That’s more than some cities in Ohio get in a single storm.
The 1989 Deep Freeze
December 1989. This is the benchmark for cold in Houston. The temperature dropped to 7°F. Yes, single digits. There was snow, but the ice was the real killer.
The 1895 Monster
If we want to get really nerdy, the greatest snowfall in Houston history happened in February 1895. The city reportedly got 20 inches of snow. Can you imagine 20 inches of snow in downtown Houston? The city would simply cease to exist. People were probably commuting by sled down Main Street.
Why Does It Hardly Ever Snow Here?
It’s basically a physics problem.
To get snow in Houston, you need three things to align perfectly, and they almost never do. First, you need a deep Arctic air mass to plunge far enough south to keep the surface temperature below 32°F. Second, you need a Pacific moisture feed or a Gulf low to provide the "stuff" to fall. Usually, when the cold air gets here, it’s bone dry. When the moisture gets here, it’s 50 degrees.
Third, you need the "vertical temperature profile" to stay cold all the way down. Often in Houston, it’s snowing 5,000 feet up, but it passes through a "warm nose" of air at 2,000 feet, melts into rain, and hits your head as a cold, miserable drizzle.
That’s why we get "sleet" or "graupel" more often than snow. Sleet is just snow that melted and refroze into a little ice pebble. Graupel is like a tiny, soft snowball. Neither is particularly fun to drive in.
Is Climate Change Making Houston Snow More Likely?
It sounds counterintuitive. How can a warming planet make it snow in a swamp?
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Climate scientists point to something called "Arctic Amplification." Basically, as the Arctic warms, the jet stream—the river of air that keeps the cold air trapped up north—gets "wavy." Instead of a tight circle around the North Pole, it starts to loop. One of those loops can dip all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico, dragging a "polar vortex" with it.
So, while our average temperatures are rising, our "extreme" cold events might actually become more erratic and intense. We might go five years without a flake, and then get hit with a 2021-style disaster.
How to Prepare for the Next "Houston Snow"
Since we know it’s going to happen again eventually, you might as well be ready. Houstonians are great at hurricane prep, but we suck at winter prep.
- The "P" Rule: Whenever the forecast calls for a "hard freeze" (anything below 28°F for more than a couple of hours), remember the four Ps: Pipes, Plants, People, and Pets.
- Insulate Your Backflow: Most Houston homes have an irrigation backflow preventer sticking out of the ground. These explode in the cold. Buy a $20 insulated cover now, because when the snow starts falling, Home Depot will be sold out.
- Drip Your Faucets: If the temperature stays below freezing for more than 24 hours, let your faucets drip—both hot and cold. It keeps the water moving so it doesn't freeze in the pipes.
- Gas Up: If a storm is coming, fill your tank. In 2021, gas pumps didn't work because the power was out.
- Check the "Three-Day" Rule: Most Houston snow events are over in 48 to 72 hours. You don't need enough groceries for a month. You need enough for three days.
The Actionable Reality
The last time it snowed in Houston in any significant way was February 2021, but we see "traces" almost every other year. If you are new to the city, don't let the palm trees fool you. We get cold.
The best thing you can do right now is identify where your main water shut-off valve is located. Seriously. Go outside and find it. If a pipe bursts during the next "big one," knowing how to turn off the water in 30 seconds instead of 30 minutes will save you tens of thousands of dollars.
Also, keep a couple of bags of pool noodles in the garage. They are the cheapest and easiest way to wrap exposed pipes in a pinch.
Houston snow is beautiful for the first five minutes, but it’s a logistical nightmare for a city built for heat. Enjoy the photos, stay off the overpasses (they freeze first!), and keep your internal pipes warm with some Tex-Mex coffee.
Check your local NWS forecast at weather.gov/houston for the most accurate, non-hyped data when the next cold front rolls through. Don't trust the viral "snow map" you see on Facebook ten days out; those are almost always fake. Trust the local experts who know how the Gulf moisture interacts with the Texas cold.
Next Steps for Houstonians:
- Locate your home's main water shut-off valve today.
- Purchase insulated faucet covers before November rolls around.
- Ensure your car’s antifreeze levels are topped off and your tire pressure is correct, as cold air causes PSI to drop significantly.