What to expect from potential stormy weather today, and when to expect it

In brief: Houston can expect to see fairly widespread showers and thunderstorms this afternoon, some of them becoming severe. It will be an afternoon to be weather aware across the region. Tonight very breezy conditions arrive as a cold front blows in to cool us down for the remainder of the week.

The state of our radar as of 6:54 am CT on Wednesday. (RadarScope)

Wednesday’s storms

If you largely missed out on rain this past weekend an approaching cold front will offer another chance today as showers and thunderstorms fire up ahead of the front. Houston already is seeing some sporadic activity during the pre-dawn hours, and a cluster of storms is presently affecting the College Station area.

Metro-area activity should increase in coverage later this morning as the system moves in from the west, and Houston should see fairly widespread showers and thunderstorms from around noon to 6 pm. There is the potential for heavy rainfall, however the storms will be moving at a decent clip. So for most locations I expect accumulations of 1 inch of rain, or less (with some locations only seeing a smattering of rain). A few places, of course, may very well see higher bullseyes of rainfall.

Severe weather outlook for Wednesday. (NOAA)

Notably, there is also the threat of severe weather with some of these storms. Although conditions will be most favorable along and north of Interstate 10, we cannot rule out damaging winds, hail, and possibly even a tornado throughout the Houston area today. Please be weather aware this afternoon if you are out and about, and check the radar before hitting the road. Not everyone will see inclement weather, but where severe thunderstorms do develop conditions could deteriorate quickly. The majority of storms should have exited the area by or before sunset.

Wednesday

Aside from the potential for storms, the other notable feature about today’s weather is the temperatures. Lows this morning have only fallen into the mid-70s for much of the region, which is very warm. Highs today, with mostly cloudy skies, will reach around 80 degrees with plenty of humidity. As noted above, storm activity will increase in coverage this afternoon.

Houston rodeo forecast

There is the potential for storms in the Houston metro area, including near NRG Stadium, this afternoon. But by around 6 pm I do expect them to be clearing out. That’s not the end of things, however, as we will see gusty winds from the north later this evening. By around 9 or 10 pm winds should increase further in intensity, perhaps up to 35 mph. You probably will feel this after the show as colder and much drier air moves in. These winds will blow all night, bringing temperatures down into the low 50s by Thursday morning.

Low temperature forecast for Thursday morning in Houston. (Weather Bell)

Thursday

This will be a spring-like day with highs in the upper 60s and brisk, northerly winds gusting up to 25 mph. Skies will be sunny. Winds should start to slacken some by the evening, with a majority of the area falling into the upper 40s on Thursday night.

Friday

This will be a sunny, pleasant day with calm winds. Look for high temperatures in the mid-70s. No complaints, really. It will be spectacular. Lows on Friday night will fall into the mid-50s.

Saturday and Sunday

Temperatures this weekend will be warmer, with highs in the low 80s on Saturday and mid-80s on Sunday, and mostly sunny skies. Still, humidity does not look to get too high. The region’s next front arrives late this weekend, perhaps on Sunday evening or Monday morning. At this point I don’t foresee much in the way of storms with this one.

Next week

I’ll have more on this tomorrow, but Sunday’s front could usher in some significantly cooler air, with a few nights in the lower 40s in Houston, and possibly even upper 30s for more rural locations. We’ll have to wait for details, however, as I want to see a little more consistency in the models before hazarding a firm forecast.

Storms possible, although not certain, with next front on Wednesday

In brief: In today’s post we discuss the very, very warm temperatures across the Houston region this morning and put them into context. We also look ahead to the potential for some storms with a front on Wednesday, with cooler and drier air to follow.

Minimum temperatures on Tuesday morning are some 20 degrees above normal. (Weather Bell)

Crazy high low temperatures

Temperatures this morning are really, really warm for this time of year. Lows in much of Houston range from 70 to 75 degrees. (We won’t know the official minimum temperature for another hour or two, but as of 6:25 am CT the low at Bush Intercontinental Airport is 73 degrees). The record high minimum temperature for this date is 71 degrees, set in 2009. The normal high temperature for today is 73 degrees, so we’re already there before sunrise.

Is anyone ready for a cool front?

Tuesday

Today will be another mostly cloudy and warm day, with highs in the low- to mid-80s across the region. It will also be breezy, with southerly gusts up to 25 mph, or perhaps a bit higher. With dewpoints of around 70 degrees it will definitely feel rather humid outside today.

Houston rodeo

Aside from the humidity and at-times gusty winds, there are no real weather concerns for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo this evening. Temperatures before the show will be in the mid- to upper-70s, and won’t be much lower than that afterward. Overnight minimums will again be near, or possibly set records in Houston, only dropping into the lower 70s.

Wednesday

This is a bit of a tricky day to forecast. My best guess is that we see the potential for scattered showers, and perhaps a few thunderstorms on Wednesday morning. None of these is likely to be too serious, and I expect daytime highs to approach about 80 degrees. Shortly after noon a more organized line of storms is likely to approach the area from the west, and this should move through the city during the afternoon hours before exiting by early evening.

Severe weather outlook for Wednesday and Wednesday night. (NOAA)

There are a lot of moving pieces here, but if they all align we could see some severe weather, particularly for areas north and east of downtown Houston, along the I-69 and I-10 corridors. This most likely would take the form of hail and damaging winds. Storm chances are lesser (but non-zero) for central and southern Houston. Anyway, we’ll endeavor to have more precise information for you in tomorrow morning’s update.

Thursday

Drier air will follow the front through, with lows on Wednesday night falling into the 50s. Thursday will be a sunny and breezy day, with highs likely in the vicinity of 65 to 70 degrees and much lower humidity. Lows on Thursday night will drop to around 50 degrees in Houston, with colder conditions for outlying areas.

Low temperature forecast for Friday morning. (Weather Bell)

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

The weekend should bring lots of sunshine into the region along with a returning southerly flow. Highs will gradually warm each day, from 75 degrees on Friday to 85 degrees by Sunday. Even so dewpoints don’t look too crazy, so it probably won’t feel as sticky outside as it is now. There is no chance of inclement weather this weekend, so make your plans accordingly.

Next week

Another front follows next week, likely on Monday. This one might have a little more oomph and we might see a few nights in the 40s. We’ll see!

Houston region (mostly) receives much-needed rainfall, with more on the way

In brief: In this morning’s post we recap what was a rather wet weekend for large parts of the Houston region. A mid-week front will bring us another chance of showers followed by a bit of drier and cooler weather. The weekend looks sunny and warm.

A soggy weekend

As expected, the Houston area received widely varying amounts of rainfall this weekend, particularly from Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning. While some areas such as Katy only saw a smattering of precipitation, one only need drive along I-10 to the other side of Houston to find totals of 4 to 6 inches. These east-side showers definitely over-performed our predictions.

There was a time, on Thursday evening and Friday morning, when Matt and I debated whether to issue a Stage 1 flood alert for the area this weekend. In retrospect, we probably should have, because these storms produced some decent street flooding in central Houston and areas to the north and east of downtown.

Although these showers were most certainly a nuisance for people out and about Saturday night, large chunks of Houston received 1 or more inches of much-needed rainfall as we are getting deeper into spring. We used “mostly” in the headline because some areas got a little too much rain, and other areas west of Houston not enough.

Estimated rainfall totals, via satellite, from Friday night through Sunday evening. (NOAA)

I just wanted to include a zoomed-in view (below) of areas hardest hit by rains this weekend, including Highway 90 and the area near George Bush Intercontinental Airport. These were the heaviest rains so far in our region in 2026.

Estimated rain totals from Friday night through Sunday night for hardest-hit areas. (NOAA)

Monday

The weak cold front that moved into the region this weekend is now lifting back to the north, and so we will be left a warm and humid day today. (Also, the fog is back, and will be possible again tonight and Tuesday night). High temperatures today will generally be in the low- to mid-80s, with winds picking up from the south this afternoon and perhaps gusting up to 20 mph. Scattered, mostly light showers will be possible this afternoon, with perhaps 20 percent coverage. Skies will be mostly cloudy.

Rodeo forecast

Any showers that do develop today should be fading by the late afternoon or early evening hours, about the time most people start showing up for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Accordingly, I’m not too concerned about any showers before, during or after the show. Temperatures will be in the low 70s this evening and not fall much, with overnight lows in Houston likely to settle out at 70 degrees for most locations.

Tuesday

In terms of fog and temperatures, Tuesday will be similar to Monday. And while our skies will continue to be predominantly cloudy, I don’t expect much, if any rain on Tuesday. Our southerly winds will be more pronounced, however, with gusts up to 25 mph during the afternoon. Expect another warm and muggy night, with lows only falling to around 70 degrees again.

Wednesday

This will be another warm day, but a cold front is likely to push into the area during the afternoon and evening. This will bring a healthy chance of showers and possibly some thunderstorms during this timeframe. However storms are no sure thing, as I could see a scenario in which a line of storms forms north of Houston, but is broken (or even non-existent) in the Houston area. We’ll see. In any case some additional showers are likely on Wednesday afternoon and evening (rain accumulations of 0.25 to 0.75 inch maybe). Please note there is some uncertainty in this forecast as storms could develop further to the south, over Houston. Drier air will follow later on Wednesday night.

The dynamics for storms will be more favorable to the northeast of Houston on Wednesday. (NOAA)

Thursday

This will be a breezy, spring-like day with a high of around 70 degrees, low humidity, and sunny skies. Lows on Thursday night will drop to around 50 degrees in Houston, with cooler conditions for inland areas.

Friday

This will be a pleasant day as well, with dry-ish air and highs likely in the upper 70s to 80 degrees. Skies will be sunny. Lows on Friday night will only drop to about 60 degrees as the onshore flow resumes.

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend looks sunny and warm, with highs in the low- to mid-80s. Dewpoints will be in the lower 60s so while it will feel somewhat humid, I don’t expect it to be really muggy like our weather of late.

Next week

Another front will probably arrive early next week, pushing our overnight lows back down into the mid-50s, closer to where they should be this time of year. At this distance the overall likelihood of storms with this front looks low, but we’ll see.

Here’s what to expect later today and Sunday from a stalled front that may generate storms

In brief: We interrupt your weekend to bring you an update on impacts from a cool front that will approach the Houston region and stall out. The primary threat is severe thunderstorms later today and on Sunday, although not everyone will see inclement weather.

There is a lot going on in the metro region this weekend, from big events at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to the World Baseball Classic to much, much more. We’re going to need to be weather aware.

In the big picture a cool front move into the region, where it will clash with very warm and moist air. Where this front ultimately stalls will serve as a focus for showers along with potentially strong thunderstorms and heavy rain. However this will be rather location based, so whereas some areas may see 2 or more inches of rain, others will see considerably less. Some uncertainty remains with regard to the details, but generally here is what I expect to happen.

Severe weather threat for Saturday and Saturday night. (NOAA)

For now the radar is quiet, and we expect it to remain so in Houston throughout the morning hours. During the afternoon we may see some scattered showers across Houston, but nothing serious. However off to our northwest, in the vicinity of College Station, a more organized line of storms is likely to develop around mid-afternoon. This mass of storms is likely to threaten areas within the greater Houston region along and north of Interstate 10 during the evening hours. There is the potential for strong winds and hail with some of these thunderstorms should they turn severe. This threat should persist until around midnight or so.

If you’re headed to the Rodeo on Saturday here’s what I can say. First, the best chance of severe weather should be elsewhere this evening. However, we cannot rule out some showers and thunderstorms during the evening in the vicinity of NRG Stadium. So take care, but at this point I would not cancel plans.

Threat of rain likely shifts closer to the coast on Sunday. (Weather Bell)

After midnight the focus of storms is likely to turn closer to the coast, particularly areas including Brazoria, Galveston, and Chambers counties—I’m thinking areas nearer to Galveston Bay. For these coastal areas rainfall will be more likely during the pre-dawn hours on Sunday and during the daytime. (Rain chances for areas north of I-10 will not be zero on Sunday, but for now they look to be considerably lower). On Sunday the dynamics for severe weather are less favorable, but I still expect to see some pockets of heavy rainfall within stronger storm cells.

In terms of temperatures expect warm and muggy conditions on Saturday, with slightly cooler temperatures in the 70s on Sunday for most of the region. Rain chances diminish some on Monday.

If there are significant changes to the forecast we will update accordingly.