Freeway interchanges reopen — for now

So it's after lunch and it's still not icy — yet. To celebrate, officials have reopened some freeway interchanges that were closed yesterday when it looked like all hell would break loose. According to the Harris County Toll Road Authority, the following ramps and bridges are now open:

• ramp from eastbound Westpark tollway to Southwest Freeway northbound
• ramp from the southbound Grand Parkway to the eastbound Westpark tollway
• the Fort Bend Parkway from the Sam Houston Tollway to Highway 90A

That doesn't mean they'll be open all day, however: The chance of rain is still 70 percent for this evening, which means we're likely to see some sleet or freezing rain. Officials said they'll have crews on standby to de-ice ramps, bridges and elevated structures, and TxDOT plans to spray liquid magnesium on roadways, which apparently has the same effect as sand or crushed limestone. Who knew?

As far as the cold weather, it's going to stick around for a while, according to the forecast. We should see a high of 35 today — in fact, that's probably about where we are right now — with a low in the upper 20s tonight and that chance of icy precipitation. Fortunately, it's still not expected to stick. Tomorrow, look for a chance of rain, freezing rain and sleet until noon, followed by rain and a high in the upper 30s in the afternoon. Looks like we won't see temperatures back in the 50s until next week.

Among the people suffering from the cold today are students at Kirby Middle School, who got out of school early because the building's heater was broken. Brr!