Summary: A front will move through Houston this morning, leading to some beautiful weather through Friday. The weekend turns warmer and more humid, with some showers possible on Sunday, and likely on Monday and Tuesday. That may well spoil the eclipse viewing in Houston.
Tuesday
We’re seeing a broken line of showers, with a few isolated thunderstorms, across the region this morning as a cold front moves through the area from west to east. These showers should move east of Houston by 8 or 9 am, with drier air moving in behind. As a result we’ll see clearing skies by late this morning or early afternoon at the latest. This sunshine should allow highs to reach the lower 80s this afternoon before the region cools off nicely, with lows dropping into the low 50s tonight. It will be breezy this evening as winds gust up to about 30 mph from the north-northwest.
Wednesday
This will be a fine spring day, with highs likely in the mid-70s and lots of sunshine. It will be a bit windy, with gusts of perhaps 20 mph, as more dry air moves in. Conditions settle down overnight, with clear skies and lows in the 50s.
Thursday
This will be another exceptional day, with highs around 80 degrees and lots of sunshine. Winds will be light. Lows on Thursday night will drop again into the 50s.
Friday
While the onshore flow will start to reestablish itself, this should be a mostly sunny day with highs around 80 degrees and fairly dry air. Overnight lows will, however, be a bit warmer, only dropping to around 60 degrees overnight.
Saturday and Sunday
The weekend will see a transition to warmer, and more humid weather. We’ll see some clouds on Saturday, and increasing southerly winds. It could be gusty at times. Highs will be around 80 degrees. As atmospheric moisture levels increase, Sunday will be a mostly cloudy day with a chance of light showers. Highs will again be around 80 degrees. Lows on Sunday night will only drop to around 70 degrees.
Eclipse Monday
A dying front will stall over the region this weekend, and it will lead to increased rain chances to start next week, on Monday and Tuesday. In terms of accumulations, most of the area is likely to see 0.5 to 1.5 inches of rain, but of course details are difficult to parse this far out.
What that means for our skies on Monday is that clouds are likely at the time of the eclipse, which will peak at 1:40 pm CT over Houston with 94 percent of the Sun covered by the Moon. I can’t say for certainty that it will be cloudy during the early afternoon hours on Monday, but we’re continuing to trend that way.
What about the line of totality, where the Sun is completely obscured by the Moon? This runs from South Texas to Northeast Texas. At this time much of the state is still likely to see partly to mostly cloudy skies along the path of totality, but there is some chance that areas of north Texas might see clearing skies as the aforementioned front pushes down to the coast. We’ll see. The outlook is still fairly grim, but perhaps not so grim as yesterday.
if we miss this one, we just have to wait 20 years for the next one
Not all of us have an extra 20 years to spare, Stephen.
I’m 78 and realistically will be a pile of ash by the time of the 2044 eclipse. We’re making the drive to central TX for totality and it would be crushing if we get a cloudy day, as this is the last (accessible) chance for us old-timers.
Absolutely. Take advantage of every single moment and opportunity. At the very least, you could say you were there. Plus, Central Texas’s cloud cover is not supposed to be as terrible as Houston’s. Here’s hoping your eclipse experience is incredamazing.
I would recommend a quiet country lane away from the madding crowd. There are many back roads in the hill country between and around Fredericksburg and Kerrville where you could sit undisturbed – and take a quiet snooze before and after the event.
there is a lot of pollen and woolly caterpillars this year.
I watched the 2017 eclipse in South Carolina. It was cloudy all morning but as the moon started to move in front of the sun the cooling effect caused the clouds to dissipate and we ended up with a clear sky for the total eclipse. There’s probably a scientific explanation for it and maybe the cloud cover was different from the cloud cover expected next Monday but you never know. I’ll be travelling in hope anyway.