

By David Taylor / Managing Editor
From the I-10 area near the San Jacinto River and through Highlands and Barrett Station, north down FM 2100 through Crosby, to Huffman and SH 99, the Lake Houston area was completely blanketed by a historic snow for two days. Winter Storm Enzo packed a wallop, the result of a rare combination of weather factors causing the first blizzard in southeast Texas in more than a century.
The Houston area is not accustomed to a winter wonderland and the 4 – 6 inches of snow, and at times it showed.
The rare snow days paralyzed the entire Gulf Coast with school closures, most staying home from work, or ordered to remain at work during the perilous traveling conditions that lasted from late Monday to early Thursday morning.
“Enzo was the rare combination of a primarily strong polar vortex that came off Siberia, pushing frigid Arctic air all the way across the states to the Gulf Coast,” the Weather Channel reported.
The unusual cold front then collided with a low-pressure system near the Gulf Coast that brought the precipitation onshore, turning it into a wintry mix of sleet and snow.
The mix didn’t only affect the Texas coastline, but also across New Orleans all the way to parts of Florida dumping record snowfall across the south.
The frosty conditions began late Monday afternoon and one by one, Goose Creek, Huffman, and Crosby ISDs began canceling classes for at least Tuesday, which brought the brunt of the storm, through Wednesday when frigid temps froze the ice and snow creating ‘black ice’ and treacherous driving conditions. By Thursday morning, most of the area began to see the snow melt away as temperatures climbed back above 32-degrees and sunlight broke through to begin the melting process.
The storm brought some anxiety for Houston and Texas residents who saw their power go out for several days when Winter Storm Uri impacted the coast with four to five days of winter ice and snow.
According to CenterPoint Energy, 99 percent of their customers maintained power completely throughout the snow storm. At least 11 have been confirmed dead from the Gulf Coast of Texas to Florida from the record-breaking snow and ice storm.
Widespread road closures, flight cancellations, and power outages occurred due to the heavy snow and icy conditions. Galveston and the coastal areas experienced additional issues due to storm surge combined with snowfall.
Kids and families home from the two days off spent time making snow angels and snowmen, a first for many of them.
Life returned to normal for most across the state, and North Channel area with a return to school on Thursday and Friday. Remnants of melting snow and ice lingered throughout most of Thursday, but began to dissipate and were gone by Friday.




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