The question of whether it snows in Houston, Texas, has a straightforward answer: yes, but it is an extremely unusual meteorological event. Situated in Southeast Texas, the city maintains a humid subtropical climate, which features notably mild winters. While cold fronts regularly sweep through the region, atmospheric conditions rarely align to produce snowfall. The city’s proximity to the Gulf Coast keeps average winter temperatures well above the freezing point, making snow a rare occurrence.
Historical Occurrences and Frequency
Measurable accumulation happens only about once every few years, making snowfall in Houston uncommon. Meteorological records indicate the city has experienced measurable snow on fewer than 30 days since official record-keeping began in 1920. This infrequent pattern means Houstonians may go an entire decade without witnessing more than a light dusting.
The most intense snowfall event on record remains the massive storm of February 14 and 15, 1895, which blanketed the city with an estimated 20 inches of snow. More recent events include the Christmas Eve snow of 2004 and measurable accumulations in December 2008 and December 2017. The severe winter storm in February 2021 also brought approximately one inch of snow alongside significant ice accumulation.
The Climate Barrier to Snowfall
The primary reason snow is a rarity in Houston is the moderating influence of the nearby Gulf of Mexico. The city’s subtropical location means that warm, moist air from the Gulf constantly works to keep regional temperatures elevated. Even when a powerful Arctic cold front pushes south into Texas, the air mass often warms slightly as it passes over the Gulf waters.
For snow to fall, the entire column of the atmosphere, from the clouds down to the ground, must remain at or below freezing. This specific requirement is often disrupted in Houston because the cold air mass frequently lacks the necessary depth. This causes any frozen precipitation that forms higher up to melt back into rain or refreeze into sleet or freezing rain before reaching the surface. A rare combination of a deep, sustained cold air intrusion and a low-pressure system drawing Gulf moisture inland is necessary to overcome this climatic barrier.
Flurries Versus Measurable Accumulation
Many local reports of “snow” in Houston are actually sightings of flurries or trace amounts, which are meteorologically distinct from measurable accumulation. A trace amount of snow is defined as any visible snowfall that totals less than 0.1 inches on the ground. These events often occur when temperatures hover just above freezing, allowing isolated snowflakes to reach the ground without sticking.
In contrast, official measurable snowfall requires at least 0.1 inches of accumulation to be recorded at observation sites like Bush Intercontinental Airport. Most of the snow events Houston experiences fall into the “trace” category, meaning that while residents may see snowflakes briefly falling, the ground is rarely covered. This distinction helps contextualize the city’s historical data, which shows a very low number of true snow days.