Month: April 2017

Mostly sunny conditions to end the week, light showers possible on Easter

For some southern areas of Houston, rains Wednesday were quite a bit heavier than forecast. It appears that some small-scale fronts (similar to a cold front) collided and, along with the sea breeze, were capable of producing some locally heavy rain. Calmer conditions should prevail for the rest of the week. Also, if you missed it Wednesday, be sure and check out Matt’s round-up of Galveston’s ridiculous winter and spring weather.

Today and Friday

After some fog burns off this morning, the region will see mostly sunny skies today and Friday, with highs of around 80 degrees. After Wednesday’s heavy showers, I’m not ready to entirely rule out some rain showers, especially to the west and southwest of Houston, but I’d be surprised if any form.

Saturday

Highs of around 80 degrees will remain, but rain chances will increase a little bit as moisture levels rise. Any rain should be light, however.

(Space City Weather is sponsored this month by The Mole, a Jonathon Price novel.)

See full post

Galveston’s ridiculous run of warm temperature records continues

This past winter was definitely a warm one that set records in many spots across the country, but some of the most amazing warmth has come close to home—in Galveston.

For Texas and Louisiana, Winter 2016-17 was the warmest on record (back 122 years), but it was also near the top of the list in most of the eastern and central US. (NOAA)

 

For Texas and Louisiana as a whole, this winter ranked as the warmest on record (back to 1895). In fact, for most of the eastern half of the country, this was a top 5-10 warmest winter as well. For Houston, it edged out 1949-50 to be the warmest on record. For Galveston however, this winter was not the warmest on record. By 0.3°, that distinction still belongs to Winter 1889-90 (worth noting there are no weather records for that winter in Houston). But although the winter as a whole wasn’t a record, Galveston has been doing something arguably even more impressive.

(Space City Weather is sponsored this month by The Mole, a Jonathon Price novel.)

See full post

A mild rest of the week for Houston, with a chance of rain on Easter

Well, the rains made it through the area on Tuesday after all. It was a good, steady rain for the most part, not too extreme in terms of amounts, nor bringing with it much severe weather. Our lawns and trees will be thankful after a mostly dry start to the month.

Tuesday’s rain accumulations. (HCOEM)

Today

The rain made it, in part because a cool front made it all the way through. Temperatures this morning are generally in the low 60s this morning across the Houston region, with a northerly breeze. It’s pleasant. Highs today should reach into the upper 70s, with mostly sunny skies. We can’t rule out a few stray showers along the coast, however, as winds swing back out of the south to southeast.

Thursday through Saturday

The rest of the week will see fair conditions, with partly to mostly sunny skies, highs in the low 80s, and overnight lows in the mid- to upper-60s. These aren’t exactly spring-like conditions, but in a few months we’ll look back on this kind of weather fondly. I won’t entirely rule out a few light rain showers, but those will be the exception, rather than the rule.

(Space City Weather is sponsored this month by The Mole, a Jonathon Price novel.)

See full post

Some storms possible in Houston today, but honestly ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Good morning. As expected, fairly strong storms have developed well north of Houston during the overnight hours, generally from Temple to Lufkin. The primary question for today is how far those storms sag southward.

Today

A convective system has formed along a dying cold front, which should make some general southeastward motion this morning. Several high-resolution forecast models (which are frequently run, and cover a smaller geographic area than global models such as the GFS) indicate that a cluster of these storms will break off move toward Houston later this morning, and into the early afternoon. If this happens, it would bring some heavy rain—perhaps 1 to 2 inches—and gusty winds. With that said, there’s not too much support for this idea on the radar, at least not yet, and I’m pretty skeptical. Needless to say, the forecast is pretty uncertain, with storms possible, but far from a lock.

The radar as of 6:45 am CT. Storms are north of Houston this morning. (Intellicast)

Regardless, high temperatures should reach about 80 degrees under mostly cloudy skies, and the threat of rain and storms should end this afternoon or evening. Overnight lows will fall into the mid-60s.

(Space City Weather is sponsored this month by The Mole, a Jonathon Price novel.)

See full post