After a wild weekend, calmer conditions return to Houston this week

Houston just experienced a wild weekend of weather.

On Saturday our region set record high temperatures, with 81 degrees breaking the city’s previous record by 2 degrees, and plenty of sultry humidity. Also, the mosquitoes in my backyard were some of the worst I can ever recall in the Houston region, and I lived through Tropical Storm Allison. Not something I expected to see in January.

The storms on Saturday night were, frankly, more intense than expected. They brought heavy rains—while most of Houston saw 1 to 2 inches, a few pockets of the metro area saw as much as 5 inches—along with very active lightning and hail. There was even a funnel cloud that prompted tornado warnings.

And then things cleared out on Sunday morning. By the afternoon conditions were some of the nicest we will see all year. If you were outside yesterday afternoon, you know. Highs reached about 70 degrees, with sunny skies, dry air, and light northerly winds.

The good news is that we’ve got more pleasant weather on the way for this week.

Pre-sunrise temperatures in Texas on Monday morning are mostly chilly. (Weather Bell)

Monday

Lows have bottomed out near 50 degrees this morning, and while there are some clouds I expect mostly sunny conditions later today. Accordingly, high temperatures should reach the mid- to upper-60s with light easterly winds. Rain chances are about 10 percent. Low temperatures on Monday night will be a few degrees warmer, perhaps dropping into the low 50s for much of the metro area.

Tuesday

As winds turn southerly, look for a partly sunny day on Tuesday with highs in the low 70s and increasing humidity levels. Low temperatures on Tuesday night will only drop into the low 60s, with slightly cooler condition further inland.

Wednesday

This will be the warmest day of the week, with partly sunny skies and highs in the upper 70s with possibly a few readings of 80 degrees around the city. Wednesday night will be warm, with some scattered showers possible late Wednesday night ahead of the next front.

Thursday

The aforementioned front arrives Thursday morning, and it does not look like there will be a line of storms with this one. However, after the front’s passage we will see brisk northerly winds, and as a result the region will be colder for a few days in its wake. Look for sunny skies and highs in the mid-60s on Thursday, with temperatures dropping into the 40s Thursday night.

Lows on Saturday morning should be the coldest of the week. (Weather Bell)

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Friday and Saturday will be clear and chilly, with highs in the mid-60s. Temperatures will bottom out on Saturday morning, possibly reaching the upper 30s for inland areas, with most of Houston around 40 degrees or a touch warmer.

If you’re running the Houston Marathon on Sunday morning, the onshore flow will probably have returned. So while start line temperatures may be in the vicinity of 50 degrees, the area will likely warm into the low 70s during the afternoon. Some uncertainty remains this far out, of course, but I feel reasonably confident in warming conditions, as well as very low to non-existent rain chances.

Next week

It looks like the next front will arrive some time on Monday, or so, and this will bring the region’s next real chance of rainfall. The overall details are fuzzy, but I’d guess that most of next week brings highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.

16 thoughts on “After a wild weekend, calmer conditions return to Houston this week”

  1. What a screwed up January. Would be nice to have a month or so of consistent highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s—you know, like normal.

    • It does look like there will be several days with highs in the 60s and maybe low 70s and overnight lows in the 40s. Rather normal for January, and not cold, nor unpleasant.

  2. Thank you for forecasting beautiful mild weather. There’s nothing I hate more than frigid temperatures.

  3. Amazing how we now view highs in the mid-60s in January as chilly, when that’s the temperature it’s supposed to be this time of the year. Not only is Houston too hot in the summer, it’s getting to be too hot in the “winter”, too.

  4. Any estimates on Houston Marathon between 7 and 10AM? I know it will get into the 70’s in the afternoon, but will it still be relatively cool most of the morning?

  5. Can you give any perspective on the weather that California has been having,? I dont remember seeing anything like the waves of storms that are going through. What is causing it?

    • Mid line rift coming in from the Sierras out to Guam forcing a tight vortex on the underlying upper level drafts that are unseasonable warmer than in Missouri. This in combination with the unseasonable sand levels off of California force the Beaufort Wind Scale upward towards the East causing rain, snow and earthquakes (historically post 1959).

  6. Frist,thanks to SCW for a great team.
    Weather has been good not complaining when seeing the country dealing with adverse weather conditions.
    Also I am glad Lake mead is finally showing signs of a rise instead of a decline.

  7. For all those people saying cold kills mosquitoes… it doesn’t. Dec 2022 should have killed them and did not. Those extreme cold fronts bring nothing good.

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