Month: August 2018

A look ahead at high heat, a look back at Harvey a year ago

Ahh, you’ve got to love August in Houston. This is a month when a “cold” front actually means warmer weather, 100 degree days happen not too infrequently, and we face the threat of hurricanes. Today’s post will address all three of these issues, including a look back at this time, last year, to see what we were saying about the approach of Hurricane Harvey.

Tuesday

A dying cold front is north of the Houston area this morning, but should slog through the area today. The net effect of this should be to produce some scattered showers later today and this evening, and some of the embedded thunderstorms could produce briefly intense rains and winds. The chance of rain today is only about 40 percent, but that’s significantly higher than during the rest of the week. Despite the rain chances, for the most part, this should be just another hot and partly sunny August, with high temperatures in the upper 90s to 100 degrees.

Wednesday will be a hot one in the Houston area. (Pivotal Weather)

Wednesday and Thursday

Some drier air will move in behind the “cold” front, and along with this some higher pressures will build over the region. In August, this means just one thing—some serious summer heat beneath sunny skies. We can expect high temperatures in the vicinity of 100 degrees, perhaps even up to 102 or 103 degrees. The drier air may knock a tad of the humidity out of the air, but it’s still going to be extremely warm out there during the daytime. Please do take precautions, especially for any children participating in outdoor sports practices after school.

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Some serious summer heat returns this week to Houston

The bulk of the region’s children may return to school this week, but weatherwise Houston will remain in full-on summer, with the potential for an additional 100-degree day or two during the midweek. A bit of drier air will help keep relative humidity down just a touch, which will help with the daytime heat index—a little bit.

Monday

Monday will probably see a continuation of the weather we saw this past weekend, with high temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s, partly sunny skies, and a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Monday’s high temperatures shows a cold front having reached Oklahoma and northern Texas. We’ll have no such luck. (Pivotal Weather)

Tuesday

Yes, that cold front we mentioned last week has progressed toward Texas, and on Tuesday the remnants of it will slowly limp into the greater Houston region. Don’t expect much (any, really) cooling, but the front will be the impetus for some rising air on Tuesday, and some slightly better rain chances. I suspect about 40 percent of the area will see some form of showers, ranging from sprinkles to about half an inch of rain, beginning early Tuesday and running throughout the day. Highs in the mid- to upper-90s.

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Next week’s cool front risk is tantalizing

The last couple days have featured a handful of showers in the area, but not much coverage. That said, those that have been fortunate enough to see rain have seen a fair bit. The next few days will likely see that as well, but your odds of seeing rain on any one day are rather low. Next week’s forecast is sitting out there like a piece of chocolate cake, daring you to take a bite. Tantalizing is the right word here. Let’s walk through things.

Today & weekend

We will see a lot of broken-record type weather this weekend, as Eric put it yesterday. It will be partly to mostly sunny and hot all three days. Look for high temperatures topping out in the mid-90s.

Just another typical August day in Texas with highs in the mid-90s for Houston today, hotter toward Austin and San Antonio. (Pivotal Weather)

Morning lows will be low-80s at the coast to mid- or upper-70s in Houston. Yes, as noted above, you could see a shower, but truthfully, I would expect most of us are dry this weekend. Saturday may have the very slight edge over Friday and Sunday for best rain chance.

A heat advisory was issued on Thursday for Houston and points south by the National Weather Service. I would not be shocked to see that happen again today, with high humidity rolling in with the sea breeze off the Gulf, driving unpleasant weather. Regardless, do exercise typical late summer heat precautions over the next few days, especially in the afternoon.

Monday

At this point, Monday looks like an extension of the weekend, with a slight shower chance and high temperatures in the mid-90s. There may be a slightly better chance of showers or storms than the weekend east of the area toward Beaumont and Port Arthur.

Basically, typical August weather through early next week.

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Houston in a broken-record weather pattern through the weekend

Houston’s weather pattern remains more or less the same, and should hold through the weekend, as moderate high pressure (mostly) keeps a lid on afternoon showers. Rain chances look to go up next week as a “cold” front approaches and possibly even pushes through the region.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

Similar weather is similar. We can essentially expect repeat days of high temperatures in the mid-90s, and overnight lows ranging from the mid-70s (inland) to around 80 degrees (along the coast). A few isolated to scattered showers are definitely possible, including some heavier thunderstorms. We saw some of those on Wednesday in Pearland and League City, and there’s enough weakness in high pressure aloft that we should see some more over the next few days.

There will be a few 100 degree temperatures scattered across Texas today. (Pivotal Weather)

Sunday and Monday

More of the same, but with slightly better rain chances, perhaps about 30 percent of the area will see rain each day.

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