BEAUMONT, Texas — Southeast Texas is bracing for a bone-chilling arctic blast that will send temps into the 20s and possibly teens. In fact, some forecast models show the potential for single-digit temps in northern parts of Southeast Texas next Tuesday.
It's not often that the mercury falls that low across the Golden Triangle, but it has happened before.
In fact, a single digit temperature has never officially been recorded in Beaumont. But it got close in 1906. That's when the all-time official record low of 10° was set on February 6.
We say that we have never officially recorded single-digit temps because it is possible that the area saw temps as low as 6° during the great arctic outbreak in February 1899. We know that Houston got down to 6° during that historic outbreak, and the DFW area saw the mercury fall to -10°!
During that bitter cold spell, ice was seen flowing down the Mississippi River past New Orleans. There was even a one-inch thick layer of ice at the mouth of the Mississippi in Louisiana, according to data from NOAA.
Many from Beaumont will remember the 12° low recorded on December 23, 1989. It was part of a five day stretch of below-freezing low temperatures for Southeast Texas. Temps dipped to 19° on December 22nd and the area saw temps dip below freezing every morning until December 27th when the low was a balmy 35°.
Beaumont Historic Winter Lows
- Coldest December Date: 12° on December 23, 1989
- Coldest January Date: 11° on January 18, 1930
- Coldest February Date: 10° on February 10, 1906 (ironically, 14 days later, Beaumont recorded a record high for February when it reached 90° on the 24th)
While frigid temps are expected over the next several days, only time will tell if we break the coldest February temperature set 115 years ago this week!
