Houston snow 2025: How many inches did Houston get? Comparison of the freezing point in 2021 with the snowfall in 2025

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Stacking the freezing point in 2021 up to the snowfall in 2025 is an apples to oranges comparison.

The first major difference is the size of the storms.

In 2021, the cold weather affected every county in Texas; this week’s storm hit the southeast. This fact made all the difference in the result.

Because the 2021 storm was so widespread, everyone drew large amounts of power from the independent Texas power grid.

Unable to borrow supplies from other states, people used more than the grid had available, resulting in a catastrophic failure.

In 2021, over half of the state lost power, plunging people into darkness and cold for weeks.

People died from hypothermia. Some resorted to using generators at home and died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

A lack of power made it difficult for some to cook or follow boil water alerts.

Some parts of Texas don’t have snowplows or brine trucks, and icy roads cause intense crashes. Emergency crews could not get to destinations and trucks had difficulty delivering food, resulting in a grocery shortage.

Almost 250 people died in total.

According to Houston Mayor John Whitmire, it is difficult to compare the two events.

“Every storm, whether it’s a hurricane or a power outage like 2021 was, is different and unique,” Whitmire said.

With a smaller portion of the state putting demand on the grid this time, CenterPoint Energy said 99% of customers kept their power. Still, they had 3,000 workers in three staging areas ready to respond to outages.

People also stayed off the roads and at home, much to the delight of city leaders. On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, Houston had three inches of snow.

“I give Houstonians so much credit for listening to us, being smart, using common sense, having fun, but also staying off the roads. That was key,” Whitmire said.

Houston rarely sees snowfall. The top five snow events are:

• February 14-15, 1895 with 20 inches of snow

• February 12, 1960 with 4.4 inches of snow

• January 30, 1949, with 3.1 inches of snow

• January 21, 2025 with 3 inches of snow

So far for this winter storm, the city is commenting on one person’s death. The city reports that an unhoused man was asked to go to a warming center but refused.

He was found dead, but it is not known if the death was caused by the cold or a pre-existing condition.

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