A forecast only the Grinch could love: Slight chance of storms on Christmas morning, and warm

We’ve got a few more warm — and potentially stormy — days before winter arrives in Houston.

TODAY

Overnight temperatures bottomed out this morning in the upper 50s across parts of Houston, but already a warm front has moved back in off the coast so it’s not chilly out. At all. Houston set a record high on Wednesday (81 degrees) and we’ll come close to, but probably not match today’s record of 82 degrees (set in 1955). Clouds and scattered rain chances should hold back temperatures just a bit.

CHRISTMAS

The forecast for Christmas comes straight from the Grinch.

Late on Christmas Eve and through the morning hours of Christmas Day conditions in the upper levels of the atmosphere (essentially a spreading of winds) will allow moisture at the surface to rise. This will create conditions that are slightly favorable for severe weather on Christmas morning, but I don’t think too many area will see these effects. For the most part Christmas Day will bring light, scattered rain, gray skies, high humidity and temperatures in the upper 70s. Good grief.

THIS WEEKEND

Expect more of the same for the holiday weekend, but worse. Sunday, especially, has the potential for severe weather and heavy rainfall. A strong cold front will be pushing through Texas toward the coast, and at the same time forecast models show a surge of atmospheric moisture moving northward into the region from Mexico. At this point I’d guess the region sees 1 to 3 inches of rain this weekend, but there is the potential for greater amounts.

MONDAY AND BEYOND

At some point, likely on Monday morning, the cold front will move through and clear the area. Dewpoints will crater, and later during the day skies should clear. Winter will arrive. Most areas will see highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s to 40s for most of next week. The entire first week of January looks pretty cold as well.

So if you get a sweater for Christmas, don’t immediately throw it away!