Instead of days of dense fog and temperatures near record-highs, the Palmetto State is in store for freezing temperatures, with highs stuck in the 40s and 50s.

A few isolated showers or even brief thunderstorms are possible from 9 a.m. -5 p.m. with the potential starting in the eastern Hill Country and shifting east-southeast through the day with the arrival of the cold front. Wind gusts will pick up with the arrival of the front and temperatures will drop.

The coldest temperatures this week will occur just before dawn Wednesday morning, followed by a big warming of temperatures on Friday and Saturday.

Houston flirts with the 80s Friday before the first cold front of 2026 brings a brief temperature drop with limited rain chances.

In the week preceding Christmas, average temperatures from the Panhandle through the Keys have been as high as 7 degrees warmer than normal.

A colder storm is dropping south, bringing a strong cold front through Southern Nevada on Thursday. Shower chances increase Thursday morning with the best chance of precipitation in Las Vegas between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. as the cold front moves through the region.

The coldest air will be short-lived. By midweek, most of Florida is expected to be back to a more normal winter weather routine.

The Storm Prediction Center has placed Austin and areas along the Interstate 35 corridor under a low risk for severe thunderstorms on Friday.