Eric Berger

Summer is coming, and so is the Space City Weather app. On Monday, Dwight Silverman teased an early version of our forthcoming app for Android devices, and we’re also beginning to test it out on Apple devices. We plan to release the app before the beginning of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, and we’re very excited to share it with you. It will be free to download, with no in-app purchases.

It’s coming soon, @SpaceCityWX fans. SOON.#houwx pic.twitter.com/sYHn7FheXk

— Dwight Silverman (@dsilverman) April 26, 2021

Tuesday

It’s a rather sticky morning across the region. Outside my home, the temperature is 75 degrees, with a dewpoint only slightly lower. Skies are overcast, and we’ll only see a few breaks later in the day. The cloud cover should help to limit high temperatures, keeping them in the low 80s. Winds will blow out of the south at 10 to 15 mph. Tonight will be similarly muggy.

Wednesday

This will be a warm day. Southerly winds will continue to blow on Wednesday, turning a bit gusty, but there should be a few more breaks in the clouds. This sunshine will goose temperatures, and I think parts of the region will likely see highs in the mid- to upper-80s. While we can’t entirely rule out a few showers Wednesday night, the better rain chances will come on Thursday.

Thursday

The region’s next front will approach Houston on Thursday. This will bring an increased rain chances, but there’s not a whole lot of consensus in the model forecasts. There are some hints that we may see pockets of heavy rainfall, but most of the systems we’ve seen this spring have significantly underperformed in terms of rainfall. So my expectation is for a few tenths of an inch of rain with this front, but it’s something we’ll need to watch. High temperatures will likely get to about 80 degrees, with mostly cloudy skies to go along with our rainfall. As for the front, it will likely slog toward the coast, pushing offshore overnight.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

I’d love to tell you that we’ve got a great handle on the forecast for this weekend, but that would mean I’d be lying to you. The reality is that some of the guidance, including the European model, have backed off on the amount of dry air coming in with Thursday night’s front. For now, my best guess for Friday through Sunday is highs of around 80 degrees, lows in the 60s, with partly sunny skies and a modicum of drier air. By Monday we’ll probably be on a significant warming trend, likely headed back toward the upper 80s.

About nine weeks have now passed since the brutal winter storm that crippled the state of Texas’ electricity generation system. Since that time, however, Houston has enjoyed mostly spectacular weather. It’s difficult to quantify things, but the large majority of weekends have seen mostly sunny skies, dry air, and mild temperatures. This most recent weekend brought more of the same weather and the (very) early outlook for next weekend is not bad. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, because March and April typically offer some of this region’s nicest weather, and this year both months delivered.

Monday

Temperatures this morning are in the mid-60s, and they will climb into the low 80s this afternoon with partly sunny skies. Winds will blow from the southeast at about 10 mph, with higher gusts, and this will signal the return of the onshore flow. With this influx of more moist air humidity levels will rise, and overnight temperatures will likely not fall below 70 degrees for much of the metro area tonight.

Tuesday

Skies will be mostly cloudy, and this likely will help to limit temperatures in the low 80s. Winds will continue to blow from the southeast at 10 to 15 mph, and this will pump up moisture levels for rain chances later this week, but for now Tuesday should remain free from precipitation. Lows Tuesday night will only drop into the low 70s.

Wednesday

Another day with a breezy flow off the Gulf of the Mexico. It’s possible there will be some breaks in the clouds on Wednesday, and if so this will allow temperatures to climb into the mid- to upper-80s. This likely will be the warmest day of the week, and for now at least rain chances should remain about 10 percent or less. Lows will again be warm.

Thursday and Friday

A front will approach the region on Thursday and should cross the area by Thursday evening. This front will bring a healthy chance of showers to the region. Right now accumulations for most areas will probably be in the one-tenth to one-half inch range, with most rain during the daytime on Thursday. Highs on Thursday should be in the low 80s. Some rain chances will linger on Friday, but any accumulations should be very slight. Friday will see partly sunny skies and highs in the upper 70s.

Saturday and Sunday

For now, we think Houston will see a drier pattern this weekend, with at least partly sunny skies. As we enter May, it’s difficult to beat highs in the low 80s with moderate dewpoints. We can’t entirely rule out some rain chances, at least not yet, but overall the weekend forecast looks promising at this point.

After another resplendent springtime day on Wednesday, clouds and humidity will return on Thursday. This will set the stage for widespread rainfall on Friday but we’re fortunate to have another great weekend on tap after the storms pass.

Thursday

Lows this morning have dropped into the upper 40s for areas well inland, but most of the metro region is seeing temperatures in the low to mid-50s. However, as easterly winds turn more southeasterly, we’ll see a more rapid return of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. This is already leading to the development of some clouds, and by this afternoon skies should turn mostly cloudy. Highs today will reach the low 70s for most areas, with overnight lows only dropping a few degrees. Rains should hold off until late tonight.

Friday

The return of moisture and approach of a disturbance in the upper levels of the atmosphere should bring widespread rainfall into the Houston region on Friday and Friday night. Showers should be scattered during the morning hours, but pick up in coverage and intensity later during the day, particularly during the afternoon and evening hours. Some uncertainty definitely remains, but I think areas south of Interstate 10 should generally receive about 0.5 inch of rain, whereas areas north of I-10 could see 1.0 inch or more. There are some risks for severe weather, particularly strong thunderstorms with damaging winds, and hail. Please note, much of the area will probably not experience severe weather, but it is something to watch out for. Despite mostly cloudy skies, highs will reach into the upper 70s.

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend still looks quite nice, with a front on Friday night dragging drier air into the region. This will lead to clearing skies on Saturday, with at-times brisk northerly winds. Highs will climb into the low 80s, with lows dropping on Saturday night to around 60 degrees in Houston. Sunday will be sunny, again in the low 80s, with a cool but not cold night.

Next week

Houston will begin a warming trend on Monday, and likely reach the mid- to upper-80s by midweek before another front approaches the area. We still have questions about the details, but this front will bring another chance of showers and thunderstorms to the area after a period of sunny days.

The low temperature this morning at Houston’s official weather station, Bush Intercontinental Airport, has dropped to 46 degrees. This is within 4 degrees of the record low for this date, and is the coldest morning after April 20 since May 3, 2003. It won’t last!

Wednesday

With apparent temperatures in the 30s across inland parts of the region, this is definitely a morning to bundle up. Those northeast winds will continue to blow at 10 to 15 mph today, with higher gusts. Thanks to mostly sunny skies, high temperatures should rise to around 70 degrees across the area. Winds will slacken some this evening, shifting to come from the east. Lows tonight will drop to around 50 degrees north of Interstate 10, with warmer conditions closer to the coast.

Thursday

As high pressure associated with Tuesday night’s front moves east of the area, winds will bend to come from offshore, and this will drive atmospheric moisture levels upward. Gusts may reach about 20 mph. This will result in the return of some clouds Thursday, and then very healthy rain chances on Friday. Highs on Thursday will climb into the low 70s, and overnight lows will likely not fall below the upper 60s. Some very light, scattered showers will be possible Thursday night.

Friday

This will be a humid and wet day. Highs will likely reach the upper 70s, but the bigger story will be the increase of showers and thunderstorms from late morning through the evening hours. This weather will be spurred by an upper-level low pressure system that will bring a slight potential for severe weather, including hail, to much of the state.

The region could use more rainfall, so it’s hard to complain too much about a wet Friday. Although we expect accumulations of 0.5 to 2.0 inches across much of the area, we do have a few concerns about locally heavy rainfall that briefly flood low-lying streets, at worst. This may affect Friday evening’s commute home. It does look as though rain chances for Houston will end early on Saturday morning, before sunrise, as a cool front clears the area.

Saturday and Sunday

With drier air in place, the weekend looks quite nice. We should see mostly sunny skies with highs in the low 80s, and lows in the low 60s, for both Saturday and Sunday. My only slight concern is some potentially gusty winds on Saturday, perhaps above 20 mph, as the front moves in.

Next week

It looks like the region will see a warming trend before another (weak, probably?) front pushes through sometime around Wednesday. This will bring another decent chance of rain to the region, although we can’t say much more than that. Will it bring 0.1 inch or 1 inch of rain? Stay tuned.