Much of Texas woke up to a special treat Friday -- snow.
Brownsville, at the southern tip of the state, received measurable snow for only the third time since 1895. And College Station, 90 miles northwest of Houston, received 5 inches of snow -- that's two inches more than Minneapolis has received so far this season.
Texas can all thank us for their wintry weather.
The same weather pattern that is giving us our long stretch of dry and warm weather (if you are above the inversion) is what sent the blast of cold air southward. A huge ridge of high pressure along the West Coast has been forcing storms well to the north of us. It has brought in warm air that has pushed our snow levels up to the 11,000-12,000 feet.
When one part of atmosphere surges northward, as our high has done, another has to push southward as a low. That's brought the cold front down into Texas and the coating of white. It is also this pattern that continues to give Southern California its Santa Ana winds.
This general pattern will continue on into next week with a ridge of high pressure along the West Coast and a "trough" of low pressure over the eastern half of the country, but it doesn't look like Texas will see any more snow right away. Though, other parts of the eastern United States will likely see wintry weather as our ridge continues to shunt storms their way.