Morning Roundup: Snow news is good news edition

Good morning, Houston. As we were sitting around Monday morning contemplating using a witch's extremity to keep warm, we started to wonder exactly how cold it's gotten in the city before — and, thanks to the Internet, we know! According to the National Weather Service, the record low temperature for Houston was 5 degrees Fahrenheit, which we hit on Jan. 23, 1940. Maybe more interesting, though, is the Houston snowfall record: Turns out we haven't had any appreciable snowfall since Dec. 22, 1989, when 1.7 inches fell. That's nothing compared with the blizzard of Feb. 14-15, 1895, when a whopping 20 inches of snow fell in the city. We couldn't find any photos from that storm, but we did turn up a few Bob Bailey pictures from a snowfall on Jan. 30, 1949. Enjoy!

>> Judge's daughter: Jail is so inconvenient: Elizabeth Shelton, the daughter of state District Judge Pat Shelton, has asked if she can serve a 120-day jail sentence only on holidays and weekends. Shelton was sentenced to the jail time and eight years' probation in October for killing her boyfriend while driving drunk, but she was allowed to remain free so she could finish the fall semester in college. Now, days before she's scheduled to report to jail, Shelton says she needs the more convenient incarceration schedule so she can take the 14 hours she needs to keep her scholarship at the University of St. Thomas. In the end, KTRK legal analyst Joel Androphy said it doesn't matter much how Shelton serves: "It may be viewed as special treatment, but the reality if it's the same amount of time, just spread out over a longer period." If Shelton's request is granted, it would take her 60 weekends to complete her sentence; a ruling is expected today.

>> Did a sheriff's officer swipe woman's keys?: Valencia Lee has a pretty odd story: She said she was northbound on the Eastex Freeway on Monday when a motorcycle cop pulled her over, questioned her and took her keys, leaving her stranded on the side of the road. Lee told KHOU that the officer — who was escorting a funeral procession — waved her over, ordered her to keep her car where it was and asked for her keys. She handed them over, afraid she's go to jail if she didn't; then she said the officer took off, leaving Lee and a passenger on the side of the freeway. Three hours later, Lee said a Safe Clear wrecker towed her car away, after which she called the Harris County sheriff's office, which had her towed to her apartment. It's not clear exactly what happened: The sheriff's department said it's not even sure the man was a real deputy, but it's conducting an investigation. "That is not the way law enforcement officers operate," sheriff's spokesman Lt. John Martin said. "They do not leave people stranded on the side of the road."

>> Today's weather: Looks like yesterday's brilliant sunshine is a thing of the past — at least for a few days. We should see clouds moving into the area today, bringing along a chance of showers and afternoon temperatures around 70. Tonight, expect a low around 62.

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