Eric Berger

Good morning. A strong cold front will sweep across Houston this morning, bringing heavy rainfall and potentially damaging winds as it passes. In the front’s wake rains will quickly end, and with dropping dewpoints we’ll see drier air and cooler weather. Although Thursday and Friday remain somewhat breezy, our weather should be fair and fall-like through the weekend.

Wednesday

As of 6:20 am the line of storms associated with the front is nearing College Station, and should reach the western edge of Harris County by around 7 to 8 am. It should push through the city of Houston itself from 9 to 10 am and be off the coast by about noon. Most areas will likely see 1 to 2 inches of rain as the front moves through, with a few areas seeing more where storms are strongest. The main hazard is damaging winds, with hail and perhaps a tornado as a lesser threat. These storms may be briefly nasty, so they’re best avoided if possible. Dewpoints will drop after the front moves through, and we should see highs this afternoon in the 70s with clearing skies. Winds will blow from the north-northwest at 10 to 20 mph. Overnight lows will drop into the upper 50s for most locations except the coast.

Thursday and Friday

These will be a pair of sunny and cooler days, with highs generally in the low to mid-70s. On both days, but especially Thursday, a tight gradient will lead to breezy conditions. Gusts on Thursday could reach about 30 mph or even slightly higher at some locations, with gusts still in the 20s possible on Friday. Overnight lows will reach their nadir on Friday night and Saturday morning, likely dropping into the upper 40s for areas outside the urban core of Houston, and away from the coast.

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend looks amazing. Saturday should see sunny skies, highs in the mid-70s, and lighter winds. Overnight lows into Sunday will be a few degrees warmer as winds begin to return from offshore. Halloween looks quite nice as well, with more mostly sunny skies and highs near 80 degrees. Temperatures at the hour of trick-or-treating should be in the upper 70s for most locations, with enough dry air to keep things quite nice.

Next week

Some uncertainty remains, of course, but generally we should see a warming trend of temperatures back into the low 80s next week, although right now humidity levels won’t likely get oppressively high. Another front probably comes into the picture by Wednesday or Thursday, potentially setting the stage for another stellar weekend in early November. But that forecast is in pencil for now.

Well, I almost made it with a recent prediction. But alas, Mother Nature is a cruel mistress. Careful readers may recall that, 11 days ago, I wrote:

Today’s the last hot day for awhile. High temperatures away from the coast should reach about 90 degrees, and this probably will be the last time this occurs in 2021. (Emphasis on probably). 

This was just before a nice front moved into Houston, and knocked highs down into the 70s. But then we warmed back up, more aggressively than I anticipated. Still, we managed to avoid 90 degrees for awhile. Over the last week Houston hit 88 degrees three times. I started to breathe easy. Then came Monday, which was realistically the last day I could be wrong with the 90-degree prediction. And wouldn’t you know it? We hit 91 degrees at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

What I will say now is this: There is a very, very slight chance our region hits 90 degrees today. But if we don’t Monday, October 25, was the last 90-degree day of 2021.

Tuesday

Due to very high dewpoints, we’re again seeing areas of dense fog across Houston this morning. After the fog clears away we’ll see mostly cloudy skies later today. This cloud cover should help to moderate temperatures a bit, keeping them in the upper 80s. Winds will be out of the southeast at around 10 mph. Some (very light) showers are possible later today, but we should just see clouds for the most part. Lows tonight will be sticky, in the low 70s.

Wednesday

A cold front remains on track for Wednesday, and there will be no doubt as this one blows through Houston. Confidence is increasing that a fairly strong line of storms will accompany the front as it moves from northwest to southeast across the region. Although it will be moving fairly quickly, the front could still drop 1 to 2 inches of rain as it passes, and produce briefly severe winds (now’s a good time to secure Halloween decorations). In terms of timing, the front should reach College Station by around sunrise, push into Houston by 9 or 10 am, and move off the coast by around noon or shortly thereafter. Winds will gust from the west at 20 to 25 mph after the front, with overnight temperatures dropping into the 50s.

Thursday and Friday

These will be a pair of breezy, sunny, and cool days. Highs Thursday and Friday should only reach the 70s, and winds may gust as high as 30 mph on Thursday, while remaining brisk on Friday. This will be helping to usher in cooler air, and it now looks like much of the region may drop into the 40s on Friday night, the coolest of the period.

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday looks absolutely splendid, like perhaps the nicest day of fall so far. Winds should be light, with temperatures in the mid- to upper-70s, to go along with plenty of sunshine and dry air. Saturday night should be another cool one, in the 40s and 50s across Houston.

As for Halloween, this forecast is—to borrow a phrase—spooktacular. With sunny skies, highs will reach around 80 degrees. This will set the stage for a pleasant evening, likely in the upper 70s, with enough dry air to keep everyone happy. Rain chances are essentially zero. (This might be a forecast I get right! Almost a week ago, if you recall, I forecast temperatures in the upper-70s for trick-or-treating. You win some, you lose some, in this game).

Houston will face some fog this morning as surface temperatures and dewpoints are essentially the same, in the low- to mid-70s. This sticky weather will abruptly change on Wednesday as a strong front moves through and brings breezy, cooler weather to the region. The weekend, including Halloween, looks absolutely spectacular.

Monday

After the fog dissipates shortly after sunrise, today is going to be hot and sunny, with highs in the upper 80s to 90 degrees. Winds will be light, out of the west to southwest. Lows tonight won’t drop much below the mid-70s for most of the region. This weather is uncharacteristically warm for late October, but it’s not going to last.

Tuesday

This will be another sticky day, but the presence of a few more clouds should help to limit high temperatures to the mid- to upper-80s. Some rain chances will be possible during the afternoon hours along the coast, migrating inland during the evening. Any showers that develop should be light. Rain chances will be in the range of 30 percent. Overnight temperatures will remain warm as moderate rain chances persist.

Wednesday

It’s cold front day! As always there is a bit of uncertainty with the front’s timing, but it looks like a line of storms should reach the metro area around Noon. These storms could be briefly intense as they move from northwest to southeast across Houston, but should only last for an hour or less. Accumulations should be on the order of 0.5 to 1.0 inch of rain for most. Highs for most on Wednesday will be in the mid-80s, with the air becoming markedly drier behind the front. Lows Wednesday night should drop to around 60 in Houston, with cooler weather in outlying areas, and warmer conditions right along the coast.

Thursday and Friday

These should be sunny, splendid days with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s for much of the metro area, and 40s for some inland areas. It’s possible that these days are somewhat breezy, so that’s something we’ll be watching for.

Saturday and Sunday

Plan your outdoor activities with confidence. Both days should see mostly sunny skies. Saturday should bring highs in the 70s, with Halloween possibly reaching 80 degrees. Although the onshore flow will return sometime this weekend, enough dry air should remain to make for pleasant conditions when trick-or-treating on Sunday evening. Enjoy!

Good morning. We’re seeing widespread fog this morning as the air temperature near the surface has fallen to the dewpoint temperature, meaning humidity is 100 percent. This so-called “radiation” fog also requires calm winds, and there has been virtually no wind over night. It should fully dissipate by around 9 or 10 am this morning. Please note, in case you missed it, we published our Winter Outlook on Wednesday.

Thursday

After the fog dissipates we’ll see partly cloudy skies this morning, turning mostly sunny this afternoon with light winds. Highs will reach the upper 80s for most areas. Rain chances are less than 10 percent. Low temperatures tonight will fall to around 70 degrees in Houston. With calm winds again, we could see more patchy fog.

Friday

A very similar day to Thursday, with temperatures perhaps a degree or two cooler during the daytime.

Saturday and Sunday

Winds will become more pronounced from the southeast this weekend, and this will do two things. It will drive up humidity levels somewhat, and it will introduce enough moisture into the atmosphere for about a 20 percent chance of rain both days. Any showers that form will be fairly short lived. Otherwise we can expect partly to mostly sunny skies this weekend, with highs in the mid- to upper-80s.

Next week

The start of next week will be warm and muggy, and conditions will remain so until a cold front arrives. The timing of all this is not yet set in stone, but the front will likely push through some time on Wednesday. Rain chances will increase ahead of, and along with the front, and this should set the stage for more pleasant weather to end of the month of October.

Halloween

We are still 10 days away from Halloween, so the forecast is about as solid as a Peeps marshmallow candy. (Incidentally my brother-in-law once found a post Halloween sale on these selling 100 boxes for $1. Such a price would still be too high for me.) Anyway, the effects of the front will probably be fading by Sunday, October 31. My guess for weather on Halloween, then, would be highs somewhere in the low- to mid-80s, and temperatures in the upper 70s around sunset at the trick-or-treating hour. So it could be rather nice, but again, take a 10-day forecast with a grain of salt.