Month: August 2020

Tropical Storm Isaias is bearing down on the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast today, and as that storm exits, we actually look to settle down into a period of calm for a bit in the tropics. All good things must come to an end however, and as we go into the back half of August, we will begin to refocus our attention on the entirety of the Atlantic basin. For now, let’s enjoy the respite.

Tropical outlook in a sentence

No meaningful tropical activity is expected over the next week, although conditions will likely begin to get more active by August 15th or so.

Isaias

Isaias experienced a bit of a renaissance last night, ramping up to a moderately strong category 1 hurricane as it made landfall near Ocean Isle Beach, NC.

3 days of #Isaias… from the Bahamas to Virginia, from hurricane to tropical storm to hurricane to tropical storm. It also became the *5th* named storm of the season to make US landfall already. https://t.co/O5tXQxhxEP@UMiamiRSMAS @capitalweather pic.twitter.com/mEoJGBcPYN

— Brian McNoldy (@BMcNoldy) August 4, 2020

Since last evening, Isaias has raced northward and been downgraded to a tropical storm. The center is over the Mid-Atlantic this morning, heading toward Upstate New York or western New England by evening. Along its path will be flooding rains, strong winds, and some tornadoes still to come for places including Philadelphia and New York City.

Behind Isaias

In the Atlantic, we actually have no real disturbances of note behind Isaias. Yes, there is the disturbance dubbed Invest 94L, which is a few hundred miles southwest of Bermuda this morning. That one is unlikely to do much and is certainly not a threat to the U.S. There may be a tropical wave that emerges in the Bay of Campeche this weekend, but that is not expected to develop at this time as it likely moves into Mexico.

Meanwhile, off Africa, we are seeing some waves push across the continent and off the coast that look pretty robust.

None of these are expected to develop, but it’s not entirely out of the question that something could develop. Either way, anything emerging off Africa today would be at least 10 to 14 days away from us here, so we couldn’t tell you anything with any specificity anyway. That said, at least for the next week or so, none of these waves appears to be a serious candidate for any kind of meaningful development.

See full post

Good morning! Houston weather will be doing Houston things for the rest of this week, which means you can expect our customary heat and humidity. But given that our weather will neither be exceptionally hot or exceptionally wet in the days ahead, we’ll take that and be happy in August.

Tuesday

This will be another day a lot like Monday, with partly to mostly sunny skies. Winds will be light, at only about 5 mph, out of the west. This should allow high temperatures to nudge up into the mid- or possibly even upper-90s for areas well inland, while remaining several degrees cooler near the coast. As temperatures rise into the 90s, we may see the development of isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms north of the metro area, sagging southward into Houston during the late afternoon or early evening hours. Rain chances are likely about 30 percent, or a tad less.

Wednesday

Expect more of the same conditions as Tuesday, with mostly sunny skies and highs generally in the mid-90s. We will again see a chance for the development of some briefly lived, south-moving showers and thunderstorms in the late afternoon. As will be the case for most of this week, nighttime lows will barely drop into the 70s for most of the region, with partly cloudy skies. Humidity will be ample, of course.

See full post

Well Houston, we’ve made it to the start of August. Historically this is the hottest, steamiest month of the year, when the average high is 95 degrees, and the average low 75. I look at it like this: If you’re in Houston in August and the high temperature is not in the upper 90s or higher, the streets aren’t flooding, and you’re not concerned about an impending hurricane—it’s a win. August is a month to survive, with the promise of better weather down the road. And hey, two days are already down!

Monday

Some surprisingly robust storms developed north of Interstate 10 on Sunday, and although the atmosphere is slightly less favorable today, we may see some additional development over inland areas this afternoon that moves southward toward I-10. This would start up during the warmest part of the day, with highs in the mid- to upper-90s, and potentially combine with the sea breeze. These isolated to scattered thunderstorms could produce briefly heavy winds and rains through the evening. Skies, otherwise, should be mostly sunny, with calm winds providing no relief during the hottest part of the day. Overnight lows will likely drop into the upper 70s.

Tuesday

This should be a day similar to Monday, that starts out with sunny skies, but then sees development of storms during the hotter part of the day. Again, aerial coverage should be about 30 percent. High temperatures will likely reach into the upper 90s for inland areas, and a few degrees cooler along the coast.

See full post