Eric Berger

In brief: A weak front arrives in Houston this morning to drop humidity levels down for a couple of days. Beyond this, the region will see warm weather for the next 10 days, with sunny or mostly sunny skies. Really conditions won’t change much. If Houston’s weather were like this all of the time, Matt and I would be out of job. Or, in this case, a hobby. Have a great weekend!

Friday

Temperatures are in the low 60s this morning, and we are again going to have sunny skies today. What will be a little different is winds, which will shift to come from the northeast this morning at 5 to 10 mph. This is due to the passage of a weak front that will move offshore, bringing dewpoints down into the 40s for today and Saturday before the onshore flow brings them back up. Highs today will reach the mid- to upper-80s in Houston. Lows should drop into the mid- to upper-50s for most locations, and this will be our coolest night for some time.

Saturday and Sunday

This weekend looks to bring sunny weather into the Houston region should you have any outdoor plans. And really, you should. Look for highs in the low 80s with sunny skies on Saturday, and continued dry air. As light southerly winds return later in the day look for lows to only drop to around 60 degrees in Houston on Saturday night. Sunday will be a little less ideal, with southerly winds picking up to 10 to 15 mph, and it looks like we may see some gusts in the range of 25 mph. So expect higher humidity to go along with temperatures in the mid-80s. Lows on Sunday night will drop into the mid-60s.

Next week

As Matt mentioned in yesterday’s post, next week’s weather looks to be more or less the same. Most days will bring highs in the 80s with nighttime temperatures in the 60s. We may push upwards toward 90 degrees by the end of the work week. Dewpoints are going to hover around the upper 50s to lower 60s which is a tad humid, but far from uncomfortable like we can see in Houston. Days should bring a few more clouds than this week, but we’re still going to see lots of sunshine. Rain chances look low until at least next weekend. Speaking of next weekend, I don’t yet have great confidence in the forecast for Easter Sunday, but highs in the 80s seem most likely. At this point, however, we cannot rule out a chance of showers.

In brief: It’s rather cold across the state of Texas this morning, with nearly all of the state in the 30s and 40s outside of The Valley. Because we’re nearing the middle of April, the cold weather will not last, and indeed I don’t think it will get this cold in Texas for the next six months. Expect warmer temperatures for the rest of the week, but high humidity will remain at bay for awhile.

Midway through spring

Spring is by no means over for the greater Houston area, as temperatures outside this morning demonstrate. Pretty much the entire metro area outside of areas far inland (Conroe, 38 degrees) and Galveston (56 degrees) has fallen into the low- to mid-40s this morning. This is by no means extraordinary, as the record low temperature for today in Houston is 35 degrees, set back in 1971.

However, temperatures this morning are still running about 10 to 15 degrees below normal for this time of year, and looking ahead at the next two weeks I do not see another strong front in the cards. Therefore, for the urban core of Houston and areas closer to the coast, I expect that this morning may well be the final morning in the 40s of this season. We may not see its like again until October, or even November.

Tuesday

Miracle of miracle, the winds this morning are calm across the region, and are likely to remain so today. With sunny skies we should warm into the mid-70s this afternoon, with continued very dry air. Seriously, today is going to be one of the nicest days of the year, with exceptional weather. Lows tonight in Houston will drop into the lower 50s for most locations. Areas west and north of the city should dip into the upper 40s once again.

Wednesday

Wednesday will be a slightly warmer, and a slightly more humid version of Tuesday. We are talking high temperatures of about 80 degrees, and lows dropping to about 60 degrees on Wednesday night. Winds will have turned to come from the south, at perhaps 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

We should see sunny skies throughout the rest of the week, with high temperatures varying between 80 and 85 degrees. A weak front arrives on Friday morning to knock some of the humidity out of the air, but overall with dewpoints in the 40s and 50s the air is going to feel modestly dry. Nights should, generally, fall to around 60 degrees with inland areas a bit cooler and the coast a bit warmer. By Sunday we may see southerly winds become more pronounced, with gusts of 20 to 25 mph possible.

Next week

Next week should be a little bit warmer, with a few more clouds. I think we will be in the 80s for the most part, with nights in the 60s. There will be some humidity, sure, but it won’t feel like Houston humidity can during the depths of the summer. As for rain chances, overall chances are quite low until next Thursday or Friday, at least.

In brief: The word for the next week is tranquil, and there’s just not much to be concerned about as Houston enjoys one of its nicest periods of weather for the year. Winds will finally die down, and humidity should remain low through most of the weekend. Temperatures will, for the most part, be mild.

About those winds

The first week of April has been rather windy. First, we experienced robust onshore winds in response to an inland low pressure system. Then, beginning Saturday, winds turned sharply northward in response to the passage of a front. During the first six days of this month, the average wind speed has exceeded 15 mph, which is about 50 percent higher than normal during April. Every day so far this month has had a wind gust of at least 30 mph, and maximum gusts have exceeded 40 mph on several days.

There has been one benefit of this, however. It has shaken much of the tree pollen, particularly from oaks, down to the ground. We are therefore rapidly nearing the end of tree pollen season. In any case, winds should now die down as Houston’s weather turns more tranquil, and it is possible that we won’t experience a day this week with a gust of 30 mph or higher.

Monday

Temperatures have bottomed out in the mid- to upper 40s this morning, and it feels rather chilly outside. However, we’re going to see plenty of sunshine today and, indeed, for the rest of this week and that will help warm things up. Look for highs in the mid- to upper-60s today with very dry air in place. Winds will be from the north at 10 to 15 mph. We will likely experience one more night in the 40s tonight, so if you like cold weather this is a night to really soak it all up.

Tuesday

We’re going to be warmer, with highs in the mid-70s, and very light winds. This is likely to be one of the 10 finest days of the year, weather-wise, in Houston. Skies will be sunny, with low humidity. Lows on Tuesday night will drop into the low- to mid-50s. Seriously, I challenge you to find something to complain about (the weather, at least!) Be sure and tell any out-of-town visitors that this is what it’s always like in Houston.

Wednesday

More sunshine. We’ll continue our warming trend with daytime temperatures of around 80 degrees. Lows on Wednesday night will fall to around 60 degrees. This really should be another splendid day with reasonably low humidity.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

The rest of the week and into the weekend should continue to bring mostly sunny skies. Daytime temperatures will be in the vicinity of 80 to 85 degrees, with nights in the upper 50s to lower 60s. A weak front should arrive on Thursday night or Friday to blunt rising humidity levels, so our air should remain somewhat dry through the weekend. Honestly, there are just zero weather concerns this week at all.

Next week

Most of next week looks warmer, in the 80s and with more humid nights. Our overall rain chances appear to be quite low through at least the middle of next week. We have not seen our last front of the season, but one seems unlikely to push through Houston until at least the weekend of April 20 or so. Speaking of April 20, I don’t yet have a good read on weather conditions for Easter Sunday in Houston.

In brief: Houston is continuing to see exceptionally warm weather this week, and we’ll also experience ongoing windy conditions. There will be a very slight chance of storms north of the region today and Friday, and the risk of more widespread severe weather on Saturday. Afterwards conditions appear to be gorgeous next week.

Thursday

Temperatures continue to be very warm this morning across the Houston region. The normal low for the city, on April 3, is 57 degrees. Yesterday, the minimum temperature at Bush Intercontinental Airport only reached 76 degrees, which smashed the previous record for high minimum temperature of 72 degrees for the day. We’re likely to set a similar record today.

A robust southwesterly flow in the atmosphere will continue to funnel warm air into the region today and Friday. This will help push temperatures up to around 90 degrees for most of Houston today even though skies are likely to remain partly to mostly cloudy. For April, that’s impressive heating without lots of direct sunshine.

The other factor in our weather will be the presence of a frontal boundary just to the north of the Houston area. This will do a couple of things. First, it will support strong southerly winds, at about 15 mph with gusts up to 30 or 35 mph. And secondly, for northern areas (probably along and north of Highway 105) it will produce a slight chance of storms. Down in the Houston metro area we cannot rule out some sprinkles, but we should remain dry for the most part. (By the way, this storm risk is historically high in the Mid-South, and you can find more information about this on The Eyewall). Expect another very warm night in the mid-70s.

Friday

We should see similar conditions on Friday, albeit with a slightly higher chance of showers in the Houston area, and thunderstorms for locations in Montgomery County and points north. Temperatures likely will be in the upper 80s for most of the Houston area.

Saturday

I’ve had a ton of questions about weddings and various outdoor activities on Saturday, due to the timing of the front, winds, and potential for thunderstorms. We’re just now coming into the range of high-resolution models, so we should start to get better details over the next 12 to 24 hours. What we know is that a front will push into Houston on Saturday, likely reaching the urban core of the city by around noon, and pushing off the coast afterward. The entire area faces a slight risk of severe weather during this frontal passage, with the usual threats of wind, hail, and possibly a tornado. At this time, it looks like the period of most concern for storms will be from mid-morning to the early evening in Houston. We should be able to nail this down more in Friday’s post. Highs on Saturday will be in the mid-80s with plenty of humidity ahead of the front before temperatures drop to around 50 degrees by Sunday morning.

Sunday

I expect rains to end at some point on Saturday night, but we cannot entirely rule out a few showers on Sunday morning. But skies should be clearing, and there will be plenty of drier air. Expect highs in the mid-60s, if you can believe it. It will be a bit breezy, with northerly winds of 15 mph or so, and higher gusts. These winds should die down by Sunday night, as lows drop into the upper 40s for much of the region.

Next week

Highs remain in the 70s, and lows in the 50s, through at least Wednesday of next week. Although the temperatures likely climb back into the 80s toward the end of the week, the air still looks reasonably dry. In short, it should be a splendid, spring-like week.