In brief: Houston’s pleasant, fall-like conditions will continue at least through the weekend, with mostly sunny skies and moderate humidity levels. Our clear skies will hold a boon early on Thursday, with good viewing conditions for the Orionid meteor shower.

Meteor shower viewing

The Orionid meteor shower is peaking over the next day or two, but seeing this increase in meteors is complicated by a couple of factors. Locally, the best time to see it will be on Thursday morning, from about 4 am CT and until the onset of nautical twilight. This is because the waxing gibbous Moon sets at 3:53 am, leaving nearly three hours of dark skies before they start to lighten due to the approaching sunrise. The cloud cover forecast for that time period is nearly perfect, with clear skies anticipated.

The Orionids can be one of the better meteor showers a year, with the potential for 20 or more meteors visible per hour, provided you have reasonably dark skies—which of course can be difficult in the urban core of Houston. The source of these meteors is debris from Halley’s Comet, which it leaves behind when shedding ice and dust during its periodic traverses through the inner Solar System. They get their name from the Orion constellation, from which they appear to originate.

Wednesday

Back on Earth there’s nothing too exciting happening with Houston’s weather as high pressure continues to dominate. Conditions are a little muggier this morning, but our flow becomes more northeasterly later today and that should help to push our humidity a bit lower. Expect highs today in the low- to mid-80s with sunny skies and light northeasterly winds. Low temperatures tonight will bottom out at about 60 degrees in Houston, with cooler conditions for outlying areas.

Thursday and Friday

These look to be pleasant days with highs in the low- to mid-80s, sunny skies, and lower humidity. Nights should get down to around 60 degrees, again with the upper 50s possible for inland areas.

Saturday and Sunday

Not much changes this weekend, with highs in the vicinity of 80 degrees, and lows in the lower 60s. Some clouds are possible later on Sunday. Rain chances remain near zero.

Next week

This overall pattern should remain in place next week, with highs in the low 80s and overnight lows in the 60s. We could see some slight rain chances return on Tuesday, briefly. There are potentially better rain chances from next Thursday into the weekend, but the details of that forecast are far enough into the future to be rather blurry.

In brief: It’s an 80s party, baby! Houston’s high temperatures for the foreseeable future should be in the 80s, with lows mostly in the lower 60s. It’s not cold by any means, but it represents a big change from summer heat and humidity.

High pressure during fall

In summer, in Houston, most people are generally familiar with the impacts of high pressure on weather here. We get sunshine. We get sweltering heat. And we get humidity. But what happens when high pressure establishes itself later in the year, during the middle of fall? Well, my friends, you’re about to find out.

Instead of highs in the mid- to upper-90s, we are likely to see highs in the mid-80s. And instead of lows in the upper 70s, generally, we’ll be 15 degrees or so cooler. Also, thanks to mostly northeasterly winds, we’ll see dewpoints in the 50s to lower 60s. This will take much of the stickiness out of the air. And I hope you like this pattern, because it is not going anywhere for quite awhile.

Tuesday

Today will be, you guessed it, sunny. Highs should reach the lower 80s this afternoon, with light northeasterly winds. There will be some showers offshore, but for now I don’t anticipate these will migrate inland. Tonight will be a little warmer, with lows only falling into the mid-60s. But this should be the exception rather than the rule for our weather in the days ahead.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday

High temperatures during this period will be in the mid-80s in Houston, with sunny skies, and generally light north and northeasterly winds. This flow will continue to bring just enough dry air into the region to keep our humidity lower, and help overnight lows fall to around 60 degrees in the city. Outlying areas should see even cooler conditions.

Saturday and Sunday

We have more sunshine this weekend, although a few clouds could start to mix in on Sunday. Highs will generally be in the low- to mid-80s, with overnight temperatures in the low- to mid-60s. One thing to look for this weekend will be somewhat stronger easterly winds. These may gust up to 20 or 25 mph from the east during the afternoon hours.

Next week

Not much changes during the first few days of next week: more sunshine and 80s. At some point next week, perhaps on Thursday or Friday, we should start to see a more pronounced southerly flow. This will act to increase humidity and cloud cover and, eventually should push up our rain chances. It is too early to say anything definitive about whether it will rain on Halloween, but it is certainly a possibility at this point.

In brief: Fall arrived this weekend, and our weather was certainly gorgeous. Now that we’ve taken the sting out of summer, is there anything to be done about our growing need for rainfall?

A dry fall

For much of the Houston region it has been a dry end of summer and start to fall. This is particularly the case for regions south and east of Houston, where meaningful precipitation has been extremely scarce. Over the last 60 days, since mid-August, most of this area has received well below 50 percent of its normal rainfall, and the last 30 days have seen almost nothing. Meanwhile some locations in the greater Houston region, such as the western part of the metro area, are probably thinking, what is this guy talking about it?

As a result of this, despite the shorter days, we have seen drought return to Houston. The majority of Brazoria county, as well as chunks of Liberty and Chambers counties, have sunk into a severe drought. Much of the rest of the metro Houston area has reached a moderate drought level. With virtually no rain expected over at least the next 10 days, I fear we could see more of Houston reach ‘severe’ drought status.

An El Niño weather pattern is supposed to bring generally wetter conditions across Texas during the winter months, and we are likely to end up needing it given the state of our soils heading toward November.

Monday

Skies will be partly sunny today, with winds shifting to come from the east. Expect highs in the upper 70s for the most part. Lows tonight will be in the mid-60s. With dewpoints hovering in the 50s, the air will continue to feel pleasantly dry outside.

Tuesday

Skies should be partly to mostly sunny, with highs in the vicinity of 80 degrees. It may feel slightly more humid, and overnight lows probably will only drop into the mid-60s.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

As the flow turns more northeasterly we should see moderately warm days, in the 80s, with slightly cooler nights. Lows are to be determined, but I expect most of the region to drop down to around 60 degrees each night during this period. Skies will be mostly sunny.

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend forecast looks warm-ish, with highs likely in the mid- to upper-80s, with mostly sunny skies. Nights should fall into the lower 60s. Dewpoints remain comfortable, such that Houston’s air is unlikely to feel too dry or too humid.

Next week

This pattern should continue into next week, after which time we may start to see a little more humidity. As for rain, which we discussed above, chances look minimal for the next week at least. Perhaps the next time to hope for something is the weekend after next; right around or just after Halloween. We shall see.

In brief: Autumn arrives in the Houston area today, with plummeting humidity and comfortable, if not cool temperatures this weekend! While next week offers a warming trend, humidity levels and morning lows stay under control, allowing for continued mostly pleasant, warmer weather.

Fall’s first real front

Welcome to autumn, my friends! As of this writing, our much discussed cold front has entered Grimes, northern Waller, and northwest Montgomery Counties. We will now get multiple days of comfortable, pleasant autumn weather, so get outside and enjoy it. Hopefully you can dial back the AC a little too. With that in mind, our partners at Reliant have some energy saving tips at the end of this post to help take full advantage of the nice weather.

Indeed, temperatures have fallen in the Brazos Valley with 60s now in College Station as of 5:30 AM. Temperatures are as much as 20 degrees cooler than they were 24 hours ago just west of I-35 in Central Texas. It’s coming.

Today & tonight

Before the front hits, look for a few scattered showers or a thunderstorm. The wind will crank up as well. Calm winds this morning will shift out of the north and will gust at 30 to 35 mph behind the front, stronger perhaps on Galveston Island, by Galveston Bay, or in the Brazos Valley.

Temperatures in the low-70s this morning may drop back into the upper 60s in spots today. But generally, they’ll hang near 70 degrees. Dewpoints will fall into the 40s this evening making it feel exquisite, albeit windy. Look for overnight lows to drop down into the 50s everywhere, even Galveston with some pockets of 40s possible in the usual colder spots.

In terms of clouds vs sun, we should see more clouds than sun this morning and more sun than clouds this afternoon.

Saturday and Sunday

Perfect. That’s about all we need to say. Winds will remain a little gusty on Saturday, though not as strong as today, and they’ll back off even more on Sunday. Highs around 70 on Saturday, lows around 45 to 50 away from the water on Sunday morning, and highs in the low to mid-70s Sunday afternoon.

Next week

For those of you that enjoy Houston for warmer weather than this weekend provides, next week should be a return to warmer conditions. Look for a slow increase in both temperature and humidity, though probably not returning anywhere close to the levels we have been dealing with. I expect to see highs near 80 on Monday, the low to mid 80s on Tuesday, and the mid-80s on Wednesday. Morning lows will also slowly nudge up to the mid-50s Monday, near 60 Tuesday, and the low-60s Wednesday. Some overnight guidance tries to keep lows in the 50s through Wednesday. Usually we end up warming back up a little faster than expected in these scenarios so I’ll keep us warm for now and Eric can tell you I was wrong on Monday.

That said, despite the warming trend, we are probably now at the point on the calendar where even on hotter days, the evenings and mornings aren’t half bad. The week looks rain-free at this time as well.

A message from Reliant

Fall weather is finally arriving this weekend, bringing cooler temperatures and a break from the long Texas summer. The milder weather often provides relief for many of us as we’re relying less on air conditioning. Here are a few ways to maximize savings during the cool front:

• Follow the “4-by-4” principle. Set your thermostat four degrees higher when you’re away from home for more than four hours to reduce electricity usage and costs.
• Try to use natural ventilation and open windows when the weather is nice rather than running the AC or heater.
• Change air filters regularly. Dirty air filters make your AC work harder than it should and reduces air flow. Take note of when to change your air filter along with the size so you have them in stock or are ready to purchase when the time comes.
• You may not think of leveraging your ceiling fan when thinking about staying warm, but it can be a useful tool. Set your ceiling fan to rotate clockwise to help force warm air down from the ceiling into the room and create a more comfortable environment. Turn off ceiling fans when you leave a room to cut back on unnecessary energy usage.

Milder temperatures can naturally reduce energy usage, but it’s also a great time for maintenance to improve your home’s efficiency and prepare heating systems for the colder months ahead.

• Inspect insulation. The best way to do this is to hire a professional to check it throughout your house.
• Seal air leaks. Common places for leaks include windows, doors, attics and basements. Add weatherstripping around doors and caulking around windows to seal leaks, which helps keep indoor air in and outdoor air out. By sealing air leaks around your home, you can improve comfort and potentially save up to 10% on total energy costs.
• Tune up your HVAC before winter and summer to make sure you’re comfortable even on the coldest and hottest days of the year.

Customers can visit reliant.com/falltips for more information on ways to stay comfortable without spending more.