Eric Berger

This has been a weird winter for Texas in general, and Houston in particular. Normally, during a La Niña winter, we see warmer and drier than normal conditions. We have checked the box for warmth—December was about 2 degrees above normal, and January is going to wind up about 5 degrees above normal. But as for rainfall, this winter has been anything but normal. Some areas of Houston have exceeded their normal allotment of rain for December, January, and February just during the last 10 days.

Those 10-day rain totals are recapped below, and occurred courtesy of cold fronts tapping into deep Gulf moisture after warm spells. This accumulated rainfall brought some bayous and waterways in northwest Houston to near bankfull on Sunday. Although we are going to remain in a wet period through Thursday, I do not think we’ll see enough heavy rainfall to cause the overall situation to change. That is to say, our soils will remain waterlogged, but I don’t anticipate any widespread flooding. Some clearing will finally come Thursday night.

Cold and Ice in Central and Northern Texas

The other big story this morning is the cold. If you’ll recall last week we waffled a lot on whether a front was going to push all the way into Houston. Well, this shallow Arctic front made it it all the way to the coast, and as a result we’re going to be cold all week, with highs generally in the 40s to 50s, and lows in the 40s. This is much colder than we anticipated even a couple of days ago. That is the end of the story for Houston, but for areas just to our north and west there is a rather nasty ice storm unfolding.

In areas such as Burleson, Brazos and Washington counties a light glaze of ice is possible on the roads today and tonight. Further away from the coast in Texas, significant icing is expected in places such as Austin and Dallas, from now through the middle of the day on Wednesday. This will seriously impact travel to and around those areas, and may cause serious power outages as ice accumulates on power lines. Areas that fall under this winter storm warning are shown in pink in the map below.

Monday

Back in Houston, we are going to see a chilly, gray day with scattered (mostly light) showers today as the cold air mass moves into Houston. Temperatures later today will range from the upper 40s for inland areas to lower 50s close to the coast. No travel issues are anticipated in the Houston metro area from the scattered precipitation, but it will be cold, with a northerly wind at about 10 mph. Low temperatures tonight drop to the low 40s in Houston, with upper 30s possible for inland areas.

Tuesday

This will be another cold and gray day with high temperatures generally in the upper 40s. We will again see decent rain chances, about 40 percent, with mostly light to moderate showers. Lows will drop to around 40 degrees on Tuesday night, with blustery northerly winds at 10 to 15 mph, and higher gusts.

Wednesday and Thursday

The atmosphere will become more perturbed by the middle of the week, with a few disturbances moving through ahead of another cold front. The bottom line is that these, too, will be cold and gray days with high temperatures of about 50 degrees, and lows in the 40s. However, rain chances will be better, especially during the Wednesday night period. Although I don’t expect flooding issues to occur, areas north of Interstate 10 may pick up an additional 1 to 2 inches of rainfall through Thursday of this week, with 0.5 to 1.5 inches for areas south of the freeway. Rain chances should finally start to ebb by Thursday afternoon as the next front moves through to clear us out.

Friday

Behold, the Sun does exist! We’ll see it on Friday, with mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the upper 50s. However these clearing skies will also allow for colder temperatures on Friday night. Lows will drop into the 30s, probably, with the potential for a light freeze for inland areas. We’ll see.

Saturday, Sunday, and beyond

This weekend looks to see mostly sunny skies, with highs in the 60s. Yes, my friends, a sunny weekend. It should be something. We’ll be on the start of a warming trend by Sunday, with highs climbing into the low 70s by the early part of next week.

Houston will enjoy another day or two of sunny weather before cloudier and rainier conditions return to the metro area for awhile. The rain chances will peak this weekend, but gray skies will probably remain until next Wednesday or Thursday. So soak up some rays today, if you can.

Thursday

Temperatures have generally fallen into the upper 30s this morning, with light northerly winds. We will see plenty of sunshine today, and this will allow highs to climb into the upper 50s. Low temperatures tonight may be a degree or two colder than Wednesday night, as winds become calm and there is little mixing.

Friday

Skies will be partly to mostly sunny, but as high pressure slides east we will start to see a southeasterly breeze. This will introduce a few clouds, and moderate temperatures. Lows will only fall into the low 50s on Friday night.

Saturday

Our pattern turns more complex by the weekend, with a southerly flow and more disturbed atmosphere. Skies will be cloudy on Saturday, and some light, fast moving showers will be possible. With the southerly flow the air will turn a bit more muggy, and highs will climb into the low 70s. Rain chances start to perk up during the evening hours, and I expect fairly widespread showers after midnight, into Sunday morning. If you have late night plans, prepare to dodge showers.

Sunday

Rain chances will probably start to diminish by Sunday morning, but the potential for showers will remain through much of the day on Sunday. Overall, I expect on the order of 0.5 to 1.5 inch of rain this weekend. That’s not a huge concern, flood-wise, but it will be a nuisance. Highs on Sunday should reach the low- to mid-70s, with continued cloudy skies, before a weak front drops most of the area into the 50s on Sunday night.

Next week

Sunday’s front will be short lived. Accordingly, we’ll see chances for (mostly) light rain through the first three days of next week, along with gray skies and warm temperatures in the 70s. The pattern finally starts to change some time on Wednesday, when the next front arrives and may act to clear out our skies. I think we’re probably looking at a few days with highs in the 50s and lows in the 40s, but this far out the details are fairly blurry. We should start to see at least some sunshine again by next Thursday or so.

Good morning. Matt has posted an excellent recap of Tuesday’s wild weather, which included what we believe to be the Houston area’s most destructive tornado since November 1992. Our thoughts are with those who suffered damage from this catastrophic event. Fortunately, calmer weather lies ahead. The story over the next two or three days will be the cold, with lows dropping into the 30s. After that we’ll return to a wetter and warmer pattern this weekend.

Wednesday

High pressure has settled over the area, and that means we will see clearing skies after a mostly cloudy start. Winds will be gusty, out of the north at 10 mph, with gusts up to 20 mph. Temperatures are starting out in the low 40s this morning, and we’re not going to get much above the mid-50s. These readings, combined with the winds, necessitate a sweater or a jacket today. Lows tonight will drop into the upper 30s in Houston, with cooler conditions inland. Winds will slacken some.

Thursday

Expect a sunny, chilly day with highs in the mid- to upper-50s. Winds will be light, at 5 to 10 mph. This will lead to ideal cooling conditions for Thursday night, with lows dropping into the upper 30s in Houston, and colder further inland. Some areas in places like Montgomery County could possibly see a light freeze.

Friday

Another mostly sunny day, with highs around 60 degrees. However, as winds shift to come from the southeast, our dry and cold air mass will start to modify. Lows on Friday night will probably only drop into the low 50s.

Saturday

So long, sunshine. After the departure of high pressure and resumption of the onshore flow, we’ll see a cloudy day. Some light, scattered showers will be possible during the daytime, becoming more numerous during the evening and overnight hours as a disturbance moves overhead. With this southerly flow, temperatures will reach about 70 degrees during the daytime, with lows only dropping slightly, into the low 60s on Saturday night.

Sunday

Alas, rain chances will remain elevated at least for Sunday morning before the atmospheric disturbance finally departs to the east. Highs will likely reach the low 70s. In terms of accumulation, I expect most of the area to see roughly 1 inch of rain, give or take, during the weekend. Areas to the east, including Beaumont, could see 2 or more inches. A weak front arrives on Sunday to push overnight lows into the 50s, probably.

Next week

Monday may only see highs in the 60s, but Tuesday and Wednesday will probably be in the 70s, with muggy and warmer conditions. After that there is general agreement in the forecast models on a stronger cold front pushing into Houston. As this is at least a week out, the details are understandably lacking. I think lows in the 30s are probably likely, and I would not rule out a freeze. If you’re thinking about planting your garden I would hold off a little bit longer, just in case.

Good afternoon. As of about 12:45 pm CT, the main line of severe weather associated with a cold front is draped across the region from El Campo to Sealy to The Woodlands, and it is steadily progressing eastward. As expected, this system is bringing wind gusts above 40 mph, heavy rainfall, and at least one confirmed tornado and multiple other warnings. We are starting to see some street flooding in areas west of Houston, and I expect this to persist for the next few hours as rainfall rates reach 1 to 2 inches per hour. This heavy rainfall will spread into central and southeastern Houston over the next couple of hours.

The main line of storms should reach areas such as Sugar Land, downtown Houston, and Bush Intercontinental Airport by around 1 to 1:30 pm, and push down closer to the coast, through areas such as Pearland, Clear Lake and Baytown by around 3 pm. The system should be fully offshore, with clearing skies area-wide, by 4:30 to 5 pm. Some low-lying street flooding may persist through the evening rush hour due to the heavy rainfall, however.

I realize that the timing of these storms is extremely inconvenient for schools and day cares and other institutions that let out during afternoon hours. I cannot say much to that effect, but if your school is located inland of Interstate 69/Highway 59, conditions should be clearing out by around 3 pm, and if you live on the coastal side of this highway, this probably will be about the time you see the worst conditions.

So far this event is proceeding just about as we expected, with nasty winds, rains, and the threat of tornadoes. I expect the latter threat to peak from about 1 to 3 pm and then gradually diminish, with the rains following suit. Heavy winds will be with us throughout the night, shifting from the west to northwest overnight. If you can stay off the roads this afternoon, you should. If you have to venture out, have a radar map handy, and a way to receive emergency alerts.