A Christmas cooldown is on the way for Houston

It’s beginning to not feel a lot like Christmas this morning, but that will soon change. A strong cold front remains on tap to move into Houston this evening, and this will bring blustery, cold conditions roaring back into the region. But first, we’ll have to deal with a gray and potentially rainy day.

Wednesday

For December, temperatures this morning are rather balmy, in the mid- to upper-60s for most of the Houston area. We’re on our way to the mid-70s later today, with mostly cloudy skies and plenty of humidity. Winds will be noticeable out of the south, blowing up to 15 mph.

We should see scattered to widespread showers develop later this morning, and most of these should be light to moderate. Then, high-resolution models suggest stronger storms may develop near, and along the coast this afternoon and during the early evening hours. It’s possible the coast, then, may see as much as 1 inch of rain by around sunset. By then, a cold front will be on the way, likely pushing into central Houston by around 8pm or so, and reaching the coast by 10pm. A broken line of showers may develop along this front, and move swiftly into the Gulf with the front. After that, we’ll see wind and much drier, colder air.

Christmas Eve

As we’ve been saying, winds are going to be howling along with the front, and Wednesday night after its passage. Make sure to account for loose articles outside, as we could see wind gusts of up to around 40 mph across much of the area overnight. These winds will begin to back off by Thursday morning, but we still should see sustained winds of around 15 mph during the day, with higher gusts. Highs will likely top out in the low 50s for most, even with the sunny skies. The winds will make it feel colder, so be sure and bundle up. Lows Thursday night will likely reach near freezing, but remain a few degrees above this threshold except for areas well inland.

Christmas Day

The holiday will start out cold, but daytime temperatures should reach about 60 degrees under mostly sunny skies. This will be as a winter day should feel! Lows Friday night will drop into the low 40s for most.

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend will bring partly sunny skies and a warming trend, with highs in the mid-60s on Saturday, and likely around 70 by Sunday. Some light showers may develop on Sunday ahead of a weaker front that may, or may not, make it all the way to the coast. For now, rain chances are fairly low.

Next week

We should see continued a warming trend next week, with our next front perhaps arriving around New Year’s Eve, or a bit earlier. This is likely to bring a healthy chance of rain and cold weather heading into 2021. Details to come!