Climate reading

Houston and the Chinese solar calendar

In Houston, the first freeze typically comes December 8, 46 days after the calendar's Frost's Descent begins on October 23. The last freeze is typically over by February 18, and Houston gets 296 days a year without one. Where the calendar and your weather disagree, go by your weather.

The weather station behind this page

Weather station	Bush Intercontinental, TX
Station ID	USW00012960
Days without a freeze, per year	296
Typical first freeze	December 8
Typical last freeze	February 18
Rain and heat	r = -0.16 (no clear pattern)
Years averaged	1991–2020

Official NOAA averages for 1991–2020 at this station: a typical year, not a forecast.

Rain and heat across the whole year

Here rainy days are spread through the year instead of bunching up in the hot months as they do where the calendar comes from, so the calendar's muggy season has no clear match in Houston. On a scale from −1 (opposite) to 1 (perfectly together), Houston scores -0.16 and the calendar's home region 0.88.

Where the calendar is most wrong about Houston

These four two-week stretches are where the calendar's names or advice sit furthest from Houston's thirty-year record.

Frost's Descent 霜降from 2026-10-23

The old calendar's three signs for these weeks, one per five days: 豺祭兽 · 草木黄落 · 蛰虫咸俯

The Su Wen, part of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic, calls fall the season of containment and levelling (容平). Go to bed early and get up early, it says, up with the rooster. That keeps you in step with fall. Go against it, the text warns, and the lungs suffer, showing up in winter as diarrhea with undigested food.

Average, low, high	67.1°F / 56.1°F / 78.1°F
Days with measurable rain	24.7%
Days at or below freezing	0.1
Daylight	11h 10m (-26 min from two weeks ago)

Where the calendar comes from, these weeks average about 53.4°F. At Bush Intercontinental, TX: 67.1°F, 13.7°F warmer.
'Frost's Descent' names what people in the Yellow River valley saw in nature, not a temperature. At Bush Intercontinental, TX, half of all years have had their first freeze by December 8, 46 days after these weeks begin; they usually bring about 0.1 freezing days.
The fastest-cooling stretch of the year: 5.1°F cooler than the two weeks before.

Major Cold 大寒from 2026-01-20

The old calendar's three signs for these weeks, one per five days: 鸡乳 · 征鸟厉疾 · 水泽腹坚

The Su Wen calls winter the season of closing and storing (閉藏). Go to bed early and get up late, once the sun is up; stay warm without sweating. That keeps you in step with winter. Go against it, the text warns, and the kidneys suffer, showing up in spring as weakness and collapse (痿厥).

Average, low, high	54.5°F / 44.3°F / 64.7°F
Days with measurable rain	32.1%
Days at or below freezing	1.8
Daylight	10h 29m (+12 min from two weeks ago)

Where the calendar comes from, these weeks average about 34.0°F. At Bush Intercontinental, TX: 54.5°F, 20.5°F warmer.
'Major Cold' names what people in the Yellow River valley saw in nature, not a temperature. At Bush Intercontinental, TX, the last freeze of spring typically doesn't clear until February 18, still 29 days away; these weeks usually bring about 1.8 freezing days.

Yang deficiency (running low on the body's warmth) traditionally finds winter hard. Here the average low this stretch is 44.3°F.

Minor Cold 小寒from 2026-01-05

The old calendar's three signs for these weeks, one per five days: 雁北乡 · 鹊始巢 · 雉雊

The winter advice above covers these weeks too.

Average, low, high	53.4°F / 43.4°F / 63.4°F
Days with measurable rain	32.3%
Days at or below freezing	2.0
Daylight	10h 17m (+4 min from two weeks ago)

Where the calendar comes from, these weeks average about 33.1°F. At Bush Intercontinental, TX: 53.4°F, 20.3°F warmer.
'Minor Cold' names what people in the Yellow River valley saw in nature, not a temperature. At Bush Intercontinental, TX, the last freeze of spring typically doesn't clear until February 18, still 44 days away; these weeks usually bring about 2.0 freezing days.

Qi stagnation (energy that gets stuck, often felt as low spirits) traditionally finds gray, rainy stretches hard. Rain falls on 32.3% of days in this stretch, against 28.5% across Houston's year.

Major Snow 大雪from 2026-12-07

The old calendar's three signs for these weeks, one per five days: 鹖鴠不鸣 · 虎始交 · 荔挺出

The winter advice above covers these weeks too.

Average, low, high	55.6°F / 45.8°F / 65.5°F
Days with measurable rain	30.5%
Days at or below freezing	1.4
Daylight	10h 17m (-12 min from two weeks ago)

Where the calendar comes from, these weeks average about 36.3°F. At Bush Intercontinental, TX: 55.6°F, 19.3°F warmer.
'Major Snow' names what people in the Yellow River valley saw in nature, not a temperature. At Bush Intercontinental, TX, half of all years have had their first freeze by December 8, 1 day after these weeks begin; they usually bring about 1.4 freezing days.

Blood stasis (blood that doesn't move freely) traditionally finds cold hard. Here the average low this stretch is 45.8°F.

All twenty-four two-week stretches in Houston

Two weeks		Begins	Avg °F	Rainy days %	Freezing days	vs. calendar °F
Minor Cold	小寒	2026-01-05	53.4	32.3	2.0	+20.3
Major Cold	大寒	2026-01-20	54.5	32.1	1.8	+20.5
Start of Spring	立春	2026-02-04	56.9	31.0	0.8	+18.6
Rain Water	雨水	2026-02-18	59.9	29.8	0.8	+17.1
Awakening of Insects	惊蛰	2026-03-05	63.0	28.5	0.3	+15.0
Spring Equinox	春分	2026-03-20	66.1	27.2	0.3	+12.3
Pure Brightness	清明	2026-04-05	69.1	25.4	0.0	+10.3
Grain Rain	谷雨	2026-04-20	72.5	24.4	0.0	+7.9
Start of Summer	立夏	2026-05-05	76.5	26.3	0.0	+8.9
Grain Buds	小满	2026-05-21	80.3	28.9	0.0	+8.0
Grain in Ear	芒种	2026-06-05	82.8	31.9	0.0	+6.3
Summer Solstice	夏至	2026-06-21	84.1	33.3	0.0	+5.1
Minor Heat	小暑	2026-07-07	85.0	30.4	0.0	+4.9
Major Heat	大暑	2026-07-23	85.7	27.3	0.0	+4.4
Start of Autumn	立秋	2026-08-07	85.4	28.1	0.0	+7.1
End of Heat	处暑	2026-08-23	83.7	30.2	0.0	+8.9
White Dew	白露	2026-09-07	80.8	28.1	0.0	+12.3
Autumn Equinox	秋分	2026-09-23	76.9	24.7	0.0	+13.0
Cold Dew	寒露	2026-10-08	72.2	24.4	0.0	+13.2
Frost's Descent	霜降	2026-10-23	67.1	24.7	0.1	+13.7
Start of Winter	立冬	2026-11-07	62.4	25.6	0.3	+15.8
Minor Snow	小雪	2026-11-22	58.5	28.2	0.8	+17.9
Major Snow	大雪	2026-12-07	55.6	30.5	1.4	+19.3
Winter Solstice	冬至	2026-12-22	53.8	31.6	1.5	+20.0

‘vs. calendar’ is how much warmer (+) or cooler (−) each stretch runs here than where the calendar comes from. Rain figures count rainy days, not inches.

The body-type notes follow traditional Chinese medicine as set out in a national standard in China. Tying them to this city's weather is a traditional association, not a finding from modern research. Which type goes with which stretch is our own arrangement: each is matched to the time of year the standard says it finds hard, or, for rain, to the rainiest of the four when it's wetter than Houston's year as a whole. Weather doesn't decide anyone's body type. To find yours, take the assessment.

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How Houston compares with the other thirteen

Houston has 296 frost-free days a year, more than 9 of the other cities here. That's 145 more than Denver, which has the fewest. It's 69 fewer than San Francisco, which has the most.

Rain falls on 28.5% of days here over a year. Phoenix is the driest of the fourteen at 9.2% and Seattle the wettest at 43.1%, which puts Houston in the middle.

The hottest two weeks here are Major Heat, with an average high of 95.5°F and rain on 27.3% of days: hot, with rain about one day in four. 2 of the fourteen get hotter at their peak, Phoenix among them.

The other thirteen cities

All fourteen cities side by side

Where this comes from

The thirty-year averages are NOAA's official 1991–2020 figures, one station per city, read straight from NOAA's records by our own program. Freezing days for each two-week stretch are estimated from NOAA's monthly counts. Figures for where the calendar comes from are based on weather-station measurements and reanalysis data from the Yellow River valley in northern China, where the calendar's names come from. The seasonal advice comes from the Su Wen, in our own translation.