In brief: Smoke and dust creating a hazy situation around Houston this weekend will likely continue into early next week. But also a slight change will allow for some minor rain chances to return after the weekend.

The weather in Houston can only be described right now as very typical late June or July. It’s hot and humid but not overly so. We have already seen some Saharan dust, but we’re also seeing a lot of haze aloft that is almost certainly related to ongoing Western U.S. wildfires.

This acrid looking mix of smoke, dust, and haze will persist through the weekend, only accentuated by a burst of Saharan dust by later Sunday or Monday.

Today & weekend

Not a whole lot of change in things expected here, with sun, heat, humidity, and haze. Saharan dust thickens up a bit as Sunday progresses. Shower chances are minimal. That’s about it. We’ll keep it simple today.

Next week

As we head into Monday and Tuesday, a sprawling area of upper-level high pressure is going to establish itself over the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys, bringing a pretty hefty heat wave to parts of the Midwest, Mid-South, and East Coast. Houston will be positioned on the southwest periphery of that high pressure. For us, that does a couple things.

First, it should open the door to the Gulf a bit. This will allow for the typical splash and dash summer thunderstorms we get here in Houston to re-enter the picture by Tuesday or Wednesday. Second, it will allow for the Saharan dust plume to blow into the area early in the week. Smoke from the western wildfires should hopefully diminish some. Also, it means that if any tropical waves enter the Gulf, they could be pointed toward the Gulf Coast. By Wednesday or Thursday, that’s a possibility, and although development of any significance is not expected, it could help nudge up our rain chances a little for the middle to end of the week. Or it could mostly end up in Louisiana. Both are reasonable potential outcomes. We’ll watch this weekend to see how things go.

Either way, by our 250th birthday next weekend, we’ll probably see that Gulf connection back off a bit as high pressure shifts out of the Midwest, with somewhat hotter, drier weather returning to Texas.

Drought update

The rains of late have definitely done wonders for our drought situation in Texas. Most of the state is now free of drought, with the notable exception of the Panhandle and portions of northeast and interior central and south Texas. The last time the majority of Texas was free of “abnormally dry” or worse conditions was September of last year.

Lake Corpus Christi is about 33 percent full now, up from 14 percent a month ago. While Choke Canyon is still in very poor shape (below 10 percent full), the other reservoirs are picking up the slack and buying some time before what will hopefully be a wetter winter in South Texas. We shall see.

In brief: In today’s post we discuss our ongoing sunny and hot weather. Not much changes on that score for about a week. However, we are likely to see our first serious incursions of Saharan dust early next week.

Saharan dust

We are nearing the point of summer during which we begin see large plumes of dust, lifted from the Saharan Desert, transported across the Atlantic Ocean. This occurs most prominently in July, but can also happen in June or August. The atmospheric dust has myriad effects, including diminishing the potential for tropical storms and hurricanes to form. This is one reason why we expect the Atlantic tropics to remain quiet for awhile.

We also sometimes see incursions of dust into the Gulf, and onshore into Texas. Some of our modeling indicates the Houston region will experience the first of these plumes beginning Sunday or Monday. This is nothing to fear. It may somewhat increase unhealthy air levels for people sensitive to air quality. But mostly it will just make our skies look different, with the dust helping to produce spectacular sunsets.

Additionally this dust is beneficial to our soils, so it’s not a particularly bad things to experience. It’s also a reminder that this entire planet, big though it may be, is interconnected. When you inhale these tiny dust particles (chances are you won’t realize you’re doing it), understand they have flown as many as 8,000 miles across the ocean to reach your nose.

Thursday and Friday

The forecast remains the same with high pressure still holding sway. Our high temperatures within the city of Houston will generally be in the low- to mid-90s, with slightly cooler daytime conditions in Galveston and other coastal areas. Skies will be sunny. Afternoons will be a bit gusty, with winds from the south. Nights remain warm and muggy, with lows generally in the upper 70s. This is typical weather for late June.

Saturday and Sunday

There really will be no change in the pattern for this weekend. Plan your outdoor activities with confidence (and sunscreen).

Next week

The first couple of days next week should bring a continuation of this pattern, but by mid-week high pressure should be easing away and this may open us up to seabreeze showers. Think daily rain chances on the order of 20 to 30 percent, primarily during the afternoon. It’s a little too early to have confidence in the Fourth of July forecast, but at this point some showers are possible. We shall see!

In brief: In today’s post we briefly discuss the ongoing ridge of high pressure dominating Houston’s weather. We also take a look at what’s happening in the Atlantic tropics (not much), and more interestingly talk about the AI model that performed exceptionally well during the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.

Tropics update and AI model review

The short answer is that the Atlantic tropics are quiet. This is often the case for late June, when Atlantic sea surface temperatures are still warming toward their peak later this summer, and wind shear is fairly high. The other factor working against tropical storms and hurricanes at this time of year is Saharan dust, and there is plenty of it across the Atlantic basin right now. I would expect the Atlantic tropics to remain quiet through the end of June, and probably at least a week into July, if not longer.

Before moving on to the rest of today’s post, I did want to note one thing about hurricane models. Earlier this year the National Hurricane Center published its annual verification report for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. One of the questions this report answers concerns the performance of the various forecast models for the “track” of tropical systems. And last year there was a clear winner, Google’s DeepMind model which is based on artificial intelligence. For forecast periods of 12 hours to 4 days out, the model’s performance was better even than that of the National Hurricane Center and various consensus models. It’s quite striking.

Our friend and colleague Michael Lowry has an excellent post explaining all of this on his “Eye on the Tropics” Substack, and it’s worth a read to put the performance of this AI model into perspective. Speaking for Matt and myself, we used Google’s model as part of our suite of tools last year, and obviously will continue to do so. I’m eager to see if it is a top performer again this year.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday

Back in Houston, our forecast has not changed much. Or rather, at all. A fairly strong ridge of high pressure remains in control of our weather for the time being. This will bring us mostly sunny skies, humidity, and hot temperatures. Highs for the rest of this week will be in the low- to mid-90s, with plenty of humidity. Overnight lows will generally drop into the mid- to upper-70s. Rain chances are basically zero. Winds will be calm in the morning, with moderately gusty conditions (up to 20 mph) during the afternoon. And that is basically it.

Saturday and Sunday

Are we expecting much change in the weather this weekend? In short, no. Perhaps we’ll see nighttime temperatures 1 to 2 degrees warmer, but it will be difficult to notice much difference.

Next week

Our sunny and hot weather continues into next week, but by Wednesday or so, some of our forecast models are indicating a turn toward a more typical summertime pattern, with a chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms along the sea breeze. However, when we get into these persistent high pressure patterns it can be difficult to break them, so we’re offering no guarantees here.

In brief: In today’s post we look ahead to Houston’s sunny, hot, and largely unchanging forecast. Also, since it’s going to be really sunny outside, we dive a bit deeper into the UV forecast, and why you should protect your skin.

We’ve reached peak sunshine

Sunday marked the summer solstice, the point at which the Sun reaches the highest point in the sky. For Houston this is an altitude of 84 degrees above the horizon (90 degrees is the maximum). The Sun reaches this meridian today at 1:23 pm CT. At this point it does not take long for you to burn because the ultraviolet light from the Sun is very nearly at its maximum point for a sea-level location on Earth.

Here’s what the UV forecast for this week actually looks like. If you slide the image, I’ve added some time stamps on a blown up version of the forecast. Essentially, the way to think of this is, from 10 am to 5 pm you’re getting a decent amount of sunshine. From 11 am to 4 pm you’re susceptible to sunburns fairly quickly. And from noon to 2:30 pm your skin will burn quickly without protection, within half an hour or less for many people.

For the remainder of the summer our days will slowly get shorter, and the Sun at a lower angle. But even two months from now in late August, the Sun still reaches a solar angle of 71 percent in the sky, which translates to “noon” on the graphic above in terms of Sun angle. So “extreme” UV is going to be with us for awhile. Protect yourself accordingly!

Tuesday through Friday

Sunshine will prevail for the rest of the week. We can generally expect highs in the low- to mid-90s in the city of Houston, with slightly cooler conditions closer to the coast, and slightly warmer conditions further inland. Winds will generally be light in the morning, while increasing during the afternoon hours and possibly gusting to about 20 mph. Overnight lows will generally drop into the upper 70s, although Thursday and Friday may get into the mid-70s. But really, this will be a distinction without a difference. Rain chances are essentially zero.

Saturday and Sunday

Does anything change this weekend? Probably not. Oh, maybe there’s a 10 percent chance of showers by Sunday. But really, with high pressure still largely in control our forecast remains more or less the same.

Next week

It is possible, although far from guaranteed, that high pressure will start to relent a little bit at some point next week. I don’t think our temperatures will change much, but this could reintroduce something like a 20 percent chance of showers each afternoon. We shall see.

As I said above, remember your Sun protection!