Eric Berger

In brief: Today’s post looks back at a fairly typical June in Houston, and ahead to what we might expect in July. We are confident that the first week is going to be rather hot and mostly sunny, but there is no reason to expect high pressure to dominate the entire month.

June a bit warmer than normal

The month of June ends tonight, and if we look back the month delivered slightly above normal temperatures, and for most locations near-normal or above normal rainfall totals. All in all, it was a fairly typical June for the Houston region, which is to say plenty warm and humid, but without the high pressure that can lead to truly searing temperatures. That typically is reserved for July, August, and part of September.

So what about the upcoming month? Although we are going to start out with high pressure in residence, there is no strong signal for it to hang around all month. Instead, seasonal forecasters predict near-normal temperatures for the month, and average rainfall totals. Therefore we might have some hope that despite the very hot start to the month of July, all of July won’t be like this. We shall see.

Monday

Today will be a bit of a transition day. Some scattered showers will still be possible later this morning and during the afternoon hours, but overall coverage should be lower than on Sunday. I’d put chances around 30 percent. We should also start to see increased levels of haze due to African dust. This may cause some issues for people who are sensitive to dust. This haze should stick around through about Wednesday, or so.

Otherwise, expect mostly sunny skies with temperatures in the low- to mid-90s. Winds, generally, will be from the south at 5 to 10 mph. Low temperatures tonight should drop into the mid-70s for Houston.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

As high pressure takes hold, our rain chances will drop back to about 10 percent daily. Highs will vary between the mid- and upper-90s most days, with sunny skies and the aforementioned haze sticking around. Nighttime temperatures will drop into the mid- to upper-70s. Basically, it’s going to feel like full-on summer in Houston so prepare yourselves.

July 4th holiday weekend

Independence Day is Friday, and as usual in Houston we will celebrate our independence from cold air. Temperatures should peak this weekend, with much of the region away from the coast reaching the upper 90s to go along with sunny skies. We cannot entirely rule out a chance of rain on July 4th, but even if you do see a stray shower (perhaps a 10 percent chance), there should be nothing to mar fireworks shows across the area. Mosquitoes, on the other hand, are likely to be abundant after our rains of the last week.

Next week

There is some evidence that high pressure may back off a little bit next week, allowing for temperatures to moderate slightly by Monday or so, with a better chance of rain. We shall see, but at least it does not appear as though we are going to be seeing a perma-ridge type pattern where the high never wants to break.

In brief: A tropical disturbance has developed in the southern Gulf, and it is expected to move into Mexico early next week. Houston can expect to see elevated rain chances on Sunday due to moisture from this system.

I hope everyone is having a great start to the weekend. It is sunny for most of us, and should remain so for much of today as high temperatures climb to around 90 degrees. For late June, this is mild weather. However, if we look a little bit further afield this morning we can see an area of low pressure in the Bay of Campeche, in the southern end of the Gulf.

The system should slowly move to the west, toward the coast of Mexico, and push inland by Monday. There is a healthy chance (50 percent, says the National Hurricane Center) that this could become a tropical depression or storm during the next 48 hours, before moving inland. The waters there are plenty warm to support development.

We are interrupting your Saturday to emphasize that this system is of no threat to Houston in terms of high seas or winds. That goes pretty much for the entire state of Texas. However, moisture associated with the tropical low pressure system should help to increase rain chances on Sunday, and possibly into Monday.

This, as well, is not of too much concern. Overall I would expect accumulations for areas south of I-10 to average 0.5 inch or less on Sunday, with lower totals further inland. However, at this time of year, especially with tropical rainfall, we can see rain totals pile up quickly. So it would not surprise me to see a few isolated areas pick up a couple of inches of rain on Sunday, which would briefly cause some ponding on streets and in parking lots. Again, for the vast majority of the region these should just be your garden variety showers and thunderstorms.

Lesser rain chances linger into Monday, and then most of next week looks hotter, with highs likely reaching at least the mid-90s.

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.