Houston is the largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of about 2 million, and the fourth largest in the United States.A large portion of the city sits on the gulf coastal plain with the local terrain consisting of forested land, swamp, marshes, grasslands or prairies, which are all still visible in surrounding areas.

Houston was once described as the \"most air-conditioned place on earth\" due to the citys substantial use of air-conditioning on most vehicles. The regions has a subtropical climate where summers can be very warm and humid, with prevailing light winds and scattered afternoon thunderstorms. Snowfall is generally rare and winters are fairly temperate with January, normally, the coldest month.