Provided/City of Houston
Houston Public Works pretreating roadways on Jan. 23, 2026, ahead of an anticipated winter storm.
After heavy rains moved into southeast Texas overnight, temperatures are dropping ahead of an anticipated winter storm. More rain is expected to come by Saturday evening before transitioning to freezing rain — and potentially icy conditions.
The City of Houston, Harris County, and surrounding counties have opened warming centers across the region. Houston Public Media has a list of the warming centers and a map of where each is located.
Transportation crews, including Houston Public Works and the Texas Department of Transportation, have been pretreating roadways with brine, a saltwater solution, to prevent ice accumulation. Randy Macchi, director of Houston Public Works, said the department began pretreatment Friday and will continue throughout the weekend.
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“We are expecting some rain to come in, and so that’s going to allow us to be a little extra vigilant as we treat those roads,” Macchi said during a news conference Friday.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire urged people to “be where you need to be” by Saturday night, when freezing rain could begin impacting travel across the region.
Latest forecast from the National Weather Service
Houston could see about a quarter-inch of ice — while Conroe could see nearly half an inch of ice — under the National Weather Service (NWS)’s worst-case scenario forecast.
Harris County and much of the surrounding region is under a winter storm warning from 6 p.m. Saturday through 6 p.m. Sunday, with a threat of 0.1-0.3 inches of ice accumulation. NWS warns of hazardous travel conditions and potential weather-related power outages, should ice build up on powerlines.
Galveston County is under a Winter Weather Advisory, with freezing rain expected and less than 0.1 inches of ice, creating potentially icy roads.
Beyond that, all of southeast Texas is under an Extreme Cold Warning, with wind chills making it feel like 10 to 5 degrees below zero.
NWS predicts Houston’s metropolitan area has a high potential of seeing freezing rain, while areas to the north and west, like College Station, have a near-certain chance of seeing freezing rain.
Thousands of CenterPoint crews on standby
CenterPoint Energy, which operates Houston’s utility infrastructure, said Saturday that its crews are pre-positioned and ready to respond to any weather-related power outages.
The company has mobilized 3,300 workers ahead of the winter storm, pre-staged equipment to restore power and stationed 17 compressed natural gas trucks around the region to provide a backup power source.
“We have already pre-positioned our personnel, equipment, and resources needed to support our customers throughout this weekend’s forecasted freezing temperatures, strong winds, and potential ice accumulations,” Nathan Brownell, vice president of resilience and capital delivery at CenterPoint, said in a statement. “Based on current forecasts, we’ve reallocated people, materials and supplies to the two north Houston staging areas which are expected to see the most significant impacts from the incoming weather.”
Elected officials say they’re prepared
Leaders in each of the major southeast Texas counties expected to be hit by the winter storm are urging residents to adequately prepare ahead of time by Saturday before the freezing rain hits.
In Montgomery County, which is expected to be hit harder than Harris County, Judge Mark Keough warned residents that a thaw may not occur until Tuesday.
“Starting this evening please stay home and off the roads,” Keough wrote in a Facebook post Saturday. “Conditions will rapidly deteriorate across Montgomery County and the roads will not be safe for travel.”
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said the city has 12 warming centers open beginning Saturday at 5 p.m., nine of which are equipped with generators. They will remain open until Tuesday.
“Putting it in perspective, 135 Texas counties have already been declared [a] disaster by Gov. Abbott,” Whitmire said. “The conditions that brought about those declarations are headed this way. And if you don’t remember another thing I say today, it’s ‘be prepared, be cautious.’”
On Saturday, the City of Houston announced it would not pick up trash on Monday, as a result of the potentially icy conditions. The city left open the possibility of suspending Tuesday’s trash collection as well.
In a press conference Saturday, Fort Bend County Judge KP George said his office is collaborating with emergency crews, other counties, and state officials in preparation.
“We are very well prepared,” George said. “But every emergency is different.”