Climate reading

Houston and the Chinese solar calendar

Houston gets 296 freeze-free days a year, with a median first freeze on December 8. The calendar names a fortnight Frost’s Descent and opens it on 23 October. Rainy days here are spread fairly evenly through the year (r = -0.16), rather than concentrated in the hot months as they are in the calendar’s home climate (r = 0.88).

The station this page reads from

Weather station	Bush Intercontinental, TX
Station ID	USW00012960
Freeze-free days / year	296
Median first freeze	December 8
Median last freeze	February 18
Rain vs. heat	r = -0.16 (evenly spread)
Normals period	1991–2020

NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals. A normal is a thirty-year average, not a forecast and not any single year’s weather.

Rain and heat across the whole year

The classical calendar assumes rain and heat arrive together — across the 24 fortnights the prototype's rainy days and temperature run together (r = 0.88). Where you are they do neither (r = -0.16): rainy days are spread through the year rather than piled into the hot months. The classical 'damp heat' season has no clear counterpart in your record.

Where the calendar is most wrong about Houston

Of the twenty-four fortnights, these four are the ones whose name or advice sits furthest from what Houston’s weather station actually recorded over thirty years.

Frost's Descent 霜降from 2026-10-23

Pentads: 豺祭兽 · 草木黄落 · 蛰虫咸俯

containment and levelling (容平 róng píng). Go to bed early and rise early, up with the rooster.
This is the response to autumn qi — the way of nourishing the gathering-in (養收). Going against it is said to injure the lung, so that winter brings undigested diarrhoea and there is less to carry the storing.
Su Wen, 'Four Qi Regulate the Spirit' (素問·四氣調神大論); pentads from the Yue Ling Qi Shi Er Hou Ji Jie

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)

This fortnight's advice was written for a place averaging 53.4°F at this point in the year. At Bush Intercontinental, TX the 1991–2020 average is 67.1°F — warmer by 13.7°F.
'Frost's Descent' is a phenological marker from the Yellow River valley — what observers saw, not a temperature threshold. The nearest thing your own record has to it: at Bush Intercontinental, TX the first freeze of autumn has arrived by December 8 in half of years — 46 days after this fortnight begins. This fortnight typically carries about 0.1 days at or below freezing.
This is the fastest-cooling fortnight of your year: 5.1°F below the one before it.

If Yin deficiency came out high for you. Traditional theory associates Yin deficiency with internal dryness and a sense of heat from within. That is a theoretical association drawn from the classical literature, not a research finding. Your average high this fortnight is 78.1°F, and 24.7% of days typically see measurable rain. Whether any of it matters for you is something to observe, not something this page can tell you.

Major Cold 大寒from 2026-01-20

Pentads: 鸡乳 · 征鸟厉疾 · 水泽腹坚

closing and storing (閉藏 bì cáng). Go to bed early and rise late — wait for the sunlight. Leave the cold, stay near warmth, and do not let the skin sweat open.
This is the response to winter qi — the way of nourishing the storing (養藏). Going against it is said to injure the kidney, so that spring brings weakness and collapse and there is less to carry the bringing-forth.
Su Wen, 'Four Qi Regulate the Spirit' (素問·四氣調神大論); pentads from the Yue Ling Qi Shi Er Hou Ji Jie

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)

This fortnight's advice was written for a place averaging 34.0°F at this point in the year. At Bush Intercontinental, TX the 1991–2020 average is 54.5°F — warmer by 20.5°F.
'Major Cold' is a phenological marker from the Yellow River valley — what observers saw, not a temperature threshold. The nearest thing your own record has to it: at Bush Intercontinental, TX the last freeze of spring does not clear until February 18, still 29 days off. This fortnight typically carries about 1.8 days at or below freezing.

If Yang deficiency came out high for you. Traditional theory associates Yang deficiency with feeling the cold sooner than the people around you. That is a theoretical association drawn from the classical literature, not a research finding. Your average low this fortnight is 44.3°F, and about 1.8 days typically fall to freezing or below. Whether any of it matters for you is something to observe, not something this page can tell you.

Minor Cold 小寒from 2026-01-05

Pentads: 雁北乡 · 鹊始巢 · 雉雊

Same seasonal passage as above — the classical text gives one instruction per season, not one per fortnight.

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)

This fortnight's advice was written for a place averaging 33.1°F at this point in the year. At Bush Intercontinental, TX the 1991–2020 average is 53.4°F — warmer by 20.3°F.
'Minor Cold' is a phenological marker from the Yellow River valley — what observers saw, not a temperature threshold. The nearest thing your own record has to it: at Bush Intercontinental, TX the last freeze of spring does not clear until February 18, still 44 days off. This fortnight typically carries about 2.0 days at or below freezing.

If Qi stagnation came out high for you. Traditional theory associates Qi stagnation with mood that moves with the season; the classical texts tie autumn's gathering-in to it in particular. That is a theoretical association drawn from the classical literature, not a research finding. Daylight at your latitude is 10h 17m, up 4 minutes from two weeks ago. Whether any of it matters for you is something to observe, not something this page can tell you.

Major Snow 大雪from 2026-12-07

Pentads: 鹖鴠不鸣 · 虎始交 · 荔挺出

Same seasonal passage as above — the classical text gives one instruction per season, not one per fortnight.

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)

This fortnight's advice was written for a place averaging 36.3°F at this point in the year. At Bush Intercontinental, TX the 1991–2020 average is 55.6°F — warmer by 19.3°F.
'Major Snow' is a phenological marker from the Yellow River valley — what observers saw, not a temperature threshold. The nearest thing your own record has to it: at Bush Intercontinental, TX the first freeze of autumn has arrived by December 8 in half of years — 1 days after this fortnight begins. This fortnight typically carries about 1.4 days at or below freezing.

If Damp-heat came out high for you. Traditional theory associates Damp-heat with damp and heat arriving together, rather than either one alone. That is a theoretical association drawn from the classical literature, not a research finding. This fortnight runs to an average high of 65.5°F with rain on about 30.5% of days. Whether any of it matters for you is something to observe, not something this page can tell you.

All twenty-four fortnights at Houston

Fortnight		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 this fortnight’s local average minus the average where the calendar was written. Rain figures on this page count rainy days, not inches. The two can point opposite ways — summer storms drop more water on fewer days.

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