Eric Berger

In brief: In today’s post we discuss the ongoing rain chances for today and through the weekend, as well as the arrival of a new round of Saharan dust. We also are happy to share the news that we think we have finally tackled the notification issue on the Apple version of our app.

Yes, we think app notifications are finally fixed

As many users of our Space City Weather app installed on Apple devices know all too well, notifications on that platform have been broken. After installing, they’ll work for a couple of weeks and then stop. This has been annoying for you and a giant pain in the butt for us. We tried several things to fix it, only to have the problem return.

Now, we think—all fingers and toes crossed!—that we have solved it. Hussain Abbasi, our developer, initially wrote the app in a Microsoft coding tool that lost support this year. Meanwhile, Apple changed the way app notifications are handled, but Microsoft didn’t update its older tool to account for that. Once Hussain realized this, he began the painful process of recreating the app in the new version of Microsoft’s coding tool that does use Apple’s latest notification system. What at first appeared to be a minor bug fix turned out to be, as they say, a heavy lift.

We released the app a few weeks ago, quietly, to see if it indeed fixed the problem. And it appears to have done that. There are still a few bugs in the new version, which is to be expected since it’s essentially a rewrite of the app. We hope to have some bug-fix updates coming in the next few days and weeks. In the interim, you may notice that weather data loads a little slowly at first. And some iPhone and Mac users are reporting the app crashes upon launch, but that appears to be rare and the cause has been identified.

If you have updates set to auto-install on your device, you already have the new version. If you haven’t updated and want notifications back, feel free to download it. (it might help to uninstall the old version before installing the new one.)

Note that this only applies to users of Apple devices. The Android version is, for now, unchanged, but our upcoming releases will address some issues there, too, including the occasional crash on, weirdly, Pixel 9 phones only. Go figure.

Thanks for using our app! We’re working to make it better for you.

Thursday

The atmospheric setup supports another day of variable shower activity today, with some areas likely to pick up 1 inch of rainfall and other locations seeing only dark clouds and distant lightning. Overall rain chances are about 50 percent, with the most likely time for showers from late this morning through the early evening hours. The proximity of rain will help keep high temperatures in the vicinity of 90 degrees for most locations. And yes, while this is fairly warm, I’d remind you that it is but a taste of what is coming in terms of summer time heat for Houston. (i.e. see the forecast for next week). Rain chances will slacken for the overnight hours, with low temperatures falling into the mid- to upper-70s.

Friday and Saturday

These days will be similar, with partly to mostly sunny skies and high temperatures of around 90 degrees, or just above. They will also be subject to hit-or-miss showers, but I expect coverage to be less, perhaps 30 percent daily. Winds will generally be light, from the south, at 5 to 10 mph. Beginning Saturday or Saturday night we might being to see some hazy skies due to an increase in Saharan dust.

Sunday and Monday

Sunday, and possibly Monday, will bring another shot of decent rain, perhaps 50 percent daily. Accumulations don’t look overly impressive, but some locations may quickly pick up half an inch of rain. Highs on Sunday may top out around 90 degrees, but we should climb into the lower 90s by Monday.

Next week

As high pressure builds nearby we are going to see mostly sunny weather. Temperatures will start out in the mid 90s (coastal areas will be a bit cooler) with highs likely approaching the upper 90s toward the end of next week. Skies will be mostly sunny, but the lingering presence of Saharan dust should help moderate dewpoints slightly. So very hot, and quite humid—but not sizzling humid maybe. We’ll still have a daily chance of shower activity along the sea breeze, primarily during the afternoon hours, but these chances are likely on the order of 20 percent. Basically, it’s going to feel very summer-like out there.

In brief: We continue to be in an environment where showers and thunderstorms are possible, and may be numerous during the daytime. This pattern will hold through today and possibly Thursday before slightly drier weather. Later, some time next week, temperatures appear likely to soar into the mid- or upper-90s.

Wednesday

Showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday were definitely hit or miss: Some areas near Tomball and Sugar Land received in excess of 1 inch, while most of the rest of the region picked up significantly less. Then, last night, more than 1 inch fell in locations near League City. This pattern is likely to continue today, with hit or miss showers and thunderstorms across the region. Storms should be more common near the coast this morning before spreading inland later today.

Overall rain chances are probably on the order of 60 percent with everything from gully washers to light rain to simply ominous skies in your neighborhood. Flooding shouldn’t be too much of an issue, but we cannot rule out some ponding on streets. Highs today will reach the upper 80s for most locations, but areas far inland will see a little more sunshine, and may push into the lower 90s. Winds will generally be light. Lows tonight will drop into the 70s, with decreasing rain chances.

Thursday

Expect a similar day to Wednesday, albeit with perhaps slightly less coverage of showers and thunderstorms. Nevertheless the potential for moderate to strong, if briefly lived, storms will be there. Temperatures and humidity will be similar to Wednesday.

Friday and Saturday

A slightly drier air mass should drop rain chances back to around one-in-three for each of these days, with decreasing intensity. As a result skies should be partly to mostly sunny, with highs in the lower 90s. For the most part, I think outdoor activities will be fine.

Sunday and Monday

These days should bring slightly better rain chances, perhaps 30 to 50 percent, but overall accumulations look modest. Expect highs in the lower 90s.

The rest of next week

A modest ridge of high pressure may build over much of Texas later next week, and by Wednesday or so we should be solidly into the mid-90s, and possibly hotter toward the end of next week. So expect July to feel very July like. Whether this ridge sticks around or breaks down to allow some rain chances to return, well, we’ll just have to see. It’s not August—yet.

In brief: Showers and thunderstorms are likely across the greater Houston region today, starting near the coast and spreading inland, and Wednesday. We don’t expect them to be too disruptive. We should then dry out for a few days before another round of showers on Sunday or Monday.

Tuesday and Wednesday

The Houston region will experience slightly cooler weather, along with widespread showers and thunderstorms, during the next two days as the region’s atmosphere becomes unsettled. Although these showers will be most prominent during the daytime hours, some rain will also be possible during the overnight hours.

If you’ve lived in Houston for any period of time, you know generally what to expect. These storms will be hit or miss, with some areas seeing gusty winds and briefly heavy rainfall (and possibly small hail) whereas two neighborhoods over may only see dark skies. Most of these showers should be quick to move through, so we don’t expect widespread flooding issues. On average, most locations should pick up about 0.5 inch of rain over the next two days, but rain totals will vary widely.

Depending on the timing of rainfall at your locations, high temperatures are likely to range between the mid-80s and lower-90s. Skies will be partly sunny with generally light winds (outside of thunderstorms) at 5 to 10 mph. Nights remain warm and muggy.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

A slug of drier air moves in to the region during the second half of the week, and while this won’t entirely end rain chances, it should knock them down to about 30 percent each day. Consequently these three days should have mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the lower 90s. If you have outdoor plans bring an umbrella, but I think showers each day will be more miss than hit. Overnight lows are in the upper 70s.

Sunday and Monday

Our model guidance indicates that another healthy chance of showers and thunderstorms will push into the area on Sunday and stick around through Monday. Overall accumulations may be on the order of another 0.5 inch for most locations, but I can’t really stress enough that totals will be inconsistent across the Houston region. On average I expect a bit higher rainfall amounts closer to the coast. Highs should be in the vicinity of 90 degrees.

Next week

At some point next week I expect high pressure to more firmly establish itself. As a result we can expect rain chances to decrease significantly. I would also anticipate highs in the mid-90s next week by Tuesday or Wednesday, with a risk of upper-90s before the weekend. Hello, July!

A message from Eric, on behalf of Reliant

As you probably know, Reliant is a long-time partner of Space City Weather. As part of our relationship, I will occasionally share information about the products and services they offer. This is not a hard sell by any means, and I want to be sure these products are high quality. So, anything I write about here, I’ve tried. In this case, I’m excited to share that we’re in the process of installing Reliant’s new Smarter Home Bundle package, which is a free add-on for Reliant customers that makes home energy management smarter and our lives easier.

My family and I will be testing out the technology and features and sharing a review with you in the next month or so. But in the meantime, I wanted to share the basics for current and new Reliant customers. Qualifying customers receive a free Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro and Vivint Smart Thermostat paired with complimentary white-glove installation. In addition to these freebies, enrolling in this offer also gives you access to the Vivint app that provides personalized energy insights by Reliant and control of the Vivint devices in one spot. In other words, you should not need multiple apps to manage all the smart technology in your home.

I’ll report back soon on what the experience was really like for me. In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more, click here.

In brief: With high pressure backing off for a few days, rain chances will be higher during the first half of this week. We also take a look at what is likely to come, weatherwise, for the remainder of summer in Houston.

Past is prelude?

As we often say here on Space City Weather, there are many definitions of summer. From a strictly meteorological standpoint, summer comprises the months of June, July, and August. In practicality, September is almost invariably a summer-like month in Houston as well, at least the first two or three weeks. So today we are going to take a look at what the region can expect during the next three months—effectively the rest of summer.

First, let’s look back at what has come so far. June, to date, has not felt super hot. However this has been masked by a relatively cool spell during the middle of the month when the city received widespread rains. There was about a week when the high temperature ranged from the 80s to lower 90s. At the same time, the city has also had more than a week of highs that reached 95 degrees, or higher. This is above the “normal” high for Houston, in June, 92 degrees. So when you add it all up, the average temperature this month is running about 2 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.

Looking ahead to July, August, and September, I rather think this is what we are most likely to see for the remainder of summer. Houston will probably see warmer than normal temperatures, but nothing too extreme. In other words, July and August are likely to bring plenty of days in the mid-90s, but perhaps only a sprinkling of days in triple digits. In terms of rainfall, the various seasonal models indicate near-normal precipitation for the remainder of summer. Hopefully this rain is fairly evenly distributed, rather than the result of one or two tropical systems. But of course that is something we cannot predict at this time.

Speaking of the heat, our partner Reliant offers a “Beat the Heat” program during the summer months to provide more than a dozen cooling centers across the Houston region. You can find a list of locations here. There is also a payment assistance program for people struggling to pay their electricity bills during the summer.

Finally, I want you to be on the lookout for a post later this morning, at 10 am. Last week I shared a tip on how I survive the summer, psychologically. You responded with some great suggestions of your own, and Dwight Silverman has collected them in a post. It’s great fun and I admire your creativity.

Monday

As we saw on Sunday, Houston’s atmosphere is a little more open to rainfall with high pressure having departed the region. That pattern will continue today, with rain chances of perhaps about 30 percent. To go along with this we will see partly to mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the low- to mid-90s. Afternoon winds will peak at about 10 mph from the southeast, with higher gusts. Lows tonight will drop into the upper 70s.

Tuesday and Wednesday

The middle of the week should have the best rain chances, with probably at least half the area receiving rainfall each day. These will be the kinds of storms where some parts of Houston quickly pick up 1 or possibly 2 inches of rainfall, and many other areas see on the order of a tenth of an inch, or two. In other words, they will be hit or miss, and it’s not really possible to forecast right now where the heaviest rains will be. Highs both days will likely be in the lower 90s, with partly sunny skies.

Thursday and Friday

Rain chances will drop back to about 30 percent, daily, to end the work week as our atmosphere becomes a little bit more stable. As a result expect mostly sunny skies and warmer temperatures, with highs in the low- to mid-90s. Nights remain warm and humid, of course.

Saturday, Sunday, and beyond

Saturday’s weather probably will be a continuation of what we experience on Thursday and Friday, but by Sunday rain chances may be on the upswing again. At this point my expectations for Sunday into next week are ongoing daily rain chances in the vicinity of 30 to 50 percent each day, with highs in the lower-to-mid 90s. In other words, this pattern of fairly typical late June weather may well continue into early July.