It's freezing!

Nov. 30, 2006, 11:29AM

Hello, wintry weather

An arctic blast finally arrives to put a chill on the heat

An arctic cold front swept into Houston during rush hour this morning, dropping temperatures at Bush Intercontinental Airport from the mid-70s around 8 a.m. to 51 degrees shortly before 10 a.m. National Weather Service Meteorologist Debby Helvy said.
As temperatures dropped, Houston school officials made preparations to keep the district's 230,000 students and staff warm and charities sprang into action to help homeless people through the cold snap.
At mid-morning, the front stretched along a line from Lufkin to Houston and into Sugar Land in Fort Bend County, Helvy said. At 9:30, the temperature at Hobby Airport had dropped more than 20 degrees in two hours, to 51 degrees.
Rain from the system was centered in Harris County but the scattered showers showed up on radar behind the front as far away as San Antonio and Dallas, she said.
With the temperatures dropping drastically today and expected this weekend to dip into near freezing numbers, talk turns to protecting the plants, pipes and, of course, people.
Houston's Star of Hope Homeless Mission today issued an urgent plea for donations of blankets and coats and made plans to house scores more homeless people than normal during the cold spell.
Star of Hope shelter staff members plan to pass out blankets, jackets and hot drinks to homeless people today and for the next few days, said Marilyn Fountain, shelter spokeswoman.

In addition to 100 full time ``program'' beds, the Star of Hope's Men's Center at 1811 Ruiz near Minute Maid Stadium planned to provide an additional 130 overnight transient beds. The Center also has floor space for up to 200 men, officials said.
Donations of coats, blankets and other items can be dropped at mission locations on Ruiz, at 419 Dowling and at 6801 Ardmore.
Houston school district spokesman Terry Abbott said
all district building custodial workers and operations managers were put into cold-weather mode.
Work included firing up all district heating systems, with plans to leave them running after all campuses are closed for the evening to keep buildings warm.
Abbott urged all parents to make sure their children wear warm clothes to school Friday although all boiler systems in school buildings are expected to be pumping plenty of warm air as classes begin.
At the city of Houston Parks and Recreation Department, horticulturist Dee Howell and her staff spent much of Wednesday covering delicate potted plants outside the department's greenhouse.
"I would be worried if I had a lot of tropical plants," she said.
On Saturday, the weather service predicts mostly sunny skies with a high near 61 degrees.
The chance of rain tonight is 70 percent and winds may reach 30 mph in nearby coastal areas. Temperatures could dip to freezing about dawn Friday, the weather service reported.
Warmer weather is expected to return by early next week.

source: Houston Chronicle www.houstonchronicle.com