One upside to this week’s rains has been temperatures, as Houston recorded five consecutive days with highs in the 80s in June for the first time since 2004. But that will change quickly, as sunny skies and highs in the mid-90s come roaring back to Houston with a blast of summertime heat.
If you enjoyed the reprieve from 90-degree temperatures, all I can offer you is this. The summer solstice occurred Thursday, marking the longest day of the year—14 hours, 3 minutes, 30 seconds. The Sun will now slowly begin sinking in the sky, presaging the coming of fall about three months from now. Temperatures lag behind the summer solstice because water retains heat longer than land, and initially days will shorten by only a few seconds. For example, the day length today is 14 hours, 3 minutes, 27 seconds. However, by the middle of August, the day will already be 1 hour shorter, even though we associate that with the dead of summer in Houston. So fall is coming … eventually.
Friday and Saturday
As high pressure moves into the region, we’re going to see an abrupt end of rain showers. The next two days will feel like classic summer in Houston—hot, with mostly sunny skies, and highs in the mid-90s. High humidity levels will make it feel warmer than that, and conditions this afternoon will be no joke after several days of more temperate weather. Be safe in the heat.
Sunday through next week
Houston will be on the edge of high pressure for most of next week, which means that while we are unlikely to see any organized shower and thunderstorm activity, there will be enough moisture most days to squeeze out some rain as the sea breeze migrates inland from the Gulf of Mexico. These won’t present great rain chances, but we can’t rule them out, either. Expect highs to remain warm, in the low- to mid-90s.
Rain chances may jump up a bit by next Thursday or Friday, but I don’t have a whole lot of confidence in that. The tropics remain quiet, as one would expect for late June. Have a great weekend everyone and we’ll see you on Monday.
I welcome the summer solstice and the daylight shortening it, albeit slowly, ushers in.
I wish it was late July, then the summer would be almost over.
Thanks for the updates. Have a great weekend as well.
Come on Fall!
Dear Eric,
Thank you for the word of hope. Watching the days shortening bit by bit and looking forward to November, is the only way I get through Houston summers.
“The tropics remain quiet, as one would expect for late July.” Jumping ahead of yourself Eric. 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Yeah, my wife caught that one too!
Summer is back? Yay!
(some of us prefer warm to cold)
It’s nice to see someone else who loves summer. the only season that is a celebration in and of itself, when the girls wear smaller clothes, and the beach awaits, and you do things not because you gotta, and the top is down on the Miata. The people who wish for fall must have a joyless outlook. And there is no fruit in the fall, apples, which are chaste and brittle, but summer brings the peach, the cherry, the blueberry, the apricot, the plum, and many others.
This is why I like July better than February. Sure it’s a lot warmer, but it’s all downhill from here with Fall in site. Plus, it means football’s almost back.
I’d rather have the rain… at least the A/C barely ran this week.
While I don’t love the heat and humidity, I do love the lushness of my patio potted plants. I was so sick and tired of this last winter – I wanted abundant greenness, plant growth! I did get the heat and now I’ve had the rain – almost too much of it for the plants. But now they will get a chance to dry out a bit and let their roots breath – and things will be back to normal. And now that that round of rain has finished, the succulents can come back outside, from out of the porch. (They get root rot with too much rain.) So, again, while heat/humidity are not my favorite things, I do love the abundance of plant growth summer brings to my patio.
“Temperatures lag behind the summer solstice because water retains heat longer than land”
Isn’t it really a matter of even though there will be less solar energy transferred to the Gulf each day , it will still be more heat put in each day than the Gulf can dissipate daily for another two months or so, thus resulting in increasing temperatures through mid August?
I’m thinking in terms of energy balance. Although it is quite true that water has a tremendously high heat capacity (about twice that of rock).
What’s the outlook for the upcoming holiday week? Plenty of Houstonians opting for stay-cations along surrounding lakes and coastline due to 4th landing on a Wednesday.
Happy Independence Day 🇺🇸