Eric Berger

Good morning. Houston will see three warm days before a front arrives on Wednesday to usher in clear and cool conditions for the New Year. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature this week will be the potential for heavy rain and storms on Wednesday and Wednesday night along with the slow-moving front, with much of the area receiving 2 to 3 inches of rainfall. We cannot entirely rule out this precipitation turning into a wintry mix north of Houston later on Thursday.

Monday

As winds continue to blow from the southeast, our atmosphere will continue to moisten today. This will result in increasing cloud cover, and highs generally in the low 70s. A cold front will approach our area tonight, but stall out well north of the metro area. As a result, temperatures should again fall to around 60 degrees in Houston—warmer near the coast, and cooler inland.

Tuesday

Another warm day, for December, a lot like Monday. Expect mostly cloudy skies, with highs in the low 70s. Winds will be fairly gusty, out of the southeast at 10 to 15 mph, with higher gusts. Lows Tuesday night will again be fairly sticky.

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday will start out with partly cloudy skies and another warm morning, as the front approaches. During the morning and early afternoon we likely will see light, scattered showers. Rain chances will increase during the afternoon, evening and overnight hours as the front slowly moves from west to east. This is where the forecast breaks down some, as the feature approaching the Houston area will be cutoff from the main atmosphere circulation, and thus will probably move more slowly.

As this system approaches our warm and moist atmosphere, it will create conditions where some strong storms will be possible on Wednesday night into Thursday. Most of the area should see a solid 2 to 3 inches of rain during this period, but we can’t rule out a few isolated areas with 5 inches. Details on this forecast will improve by Tuesday, as higher-resolution models come into play.

As colder and drier air comes into play on Thursday, rain chances will end over much of the metro area later in the day. However, a few showers may linger north of Houston, and as the colder air moves in on Thursday evening, the chance of some sleet or a few flurries in a place like Montgomery County is above zero, but only slightly. Thursday night—New Year’s Eve—will be cold across the region, with much of Houston reaching freezing, or near freezing conditions.

New Year’s Day

The first day of 2021 should be mostly sunny and cold, with highs only reaching the upper 50s, most likely. We’ll see another chilly night on Friday night.

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend looks splendid, with sunny skies, and highs in the upper 50s to low 60s, and nighttime temperatures down around 40 degrees. A sign, perhaps, that 2021 will hold more promise that this year now ending?

Good morning. We’re expecting cold conditions between now and Christmas morning, after which there will be a warming trend, and calm weather through the weekend. Because of this, Matt and I will be taking a three-day weekend to spend time with our families. Please let us wish you and your families the very warmest greetings in this year of years, and a hope for better tidings in coming times.

Christmas Eve

As promised, it is cold and blustery this morning. At 7 am, winds were still gusting to 38 mph at Hobby Airport, and above 40 mph at several locations along the coast. To go along with that, temperatures are generally only about 40 degrees, making for wind chills in the 20s.

Skies are already clearing, but due to this influx of cold, dry air highs today will struggle to climb much above 50 degrees. Winds, fortunately, should slacken throughout the day, although they’ll remain gusty until sunset. As the Sun drops toward the horizon, temperatures will follow, with parts of the area seeing a light freeze tonight.

Christmas Day

We’ll see a splendid, sunny, winter day for Christmas. Winds will be light, out of the west, and highs should reach about 60 degrees, or slightly above. Lows will be 5 to 10 degrees warmer on Christmas night, as winds shift to come from the south.

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend should see partly to mostly sunny skies, with highs in the upper 60s on Saturday, and lower 70s on Sunday. Some very light rain will be possible later on Sunday, but I expect Houston will remain dry. By Sunday night, temperatures may not drop below 60 degrees for some coastal areas.

Next week

A cold front will approach the greater Houston region on Sunday, but most model guidance now indicates it will stall out near College Station and Huntsville, rather than pushing into Houston itself. Due to the stalling front then, the most likely conditions for the first half of next week are partly to mostly cloudy skies, the potential for light, scattered showers, and highs somewhere in the 70s.

A second front likely will probably push all the way into Houston sometime on Tuesday night. There are some indications, especially after a few days of onshore flow, that this front will produce an inch or two of rainfall during the middle of next week—but our overall confidence is not high. In any case, we’re probably looking at clearing skies and colder weather for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

We’ll see you on Monday, everyone. Be safe, be of good cheer, and be good to your fellow humans.

It’s beginning to not feel a lot like Christmas this morning, but that will soon change. A strong cold front remains on tap to move into Houston this evening, and this will bring blustery, cold conditions roaring back into the region. But first, we’ll have to deal with a gray and potentially rainy day.

Wednesday

For December, temperatures this morning are rather balmy, in the mid- to upper-60s for most of the Houston area. We’re on our way to the mid-70s later today, with mostly cloudy skies and plenty of humidity. Winds will be noticeable out of the south, blowing up to 15 mph.

We should see scattered to widespread showers develop later this morning, and most of these should be light to moderate. Then, high-resolution models suggest stronger storms may develop near, and along the coast this afternoon and during the early evening hours. It’s possible the coast, then, may see as much as 1 inch of rain by around sunset. By then, a cold front will be on the way, likely pushing into central Houston by around 8pm or so, and reaching the coast by 10pm. A broken line of showers may develop along this front, and move swiftly into the Gulf with the front. After that, we’ll see wind and much drier, colder air.

Christmas Eve

As we’ve been saying, winds are going to be howling along with the front, and Wednesday night after its passage. Make sure to account for loose articles outside, as we could see wind gusts of up to around 40 mph across much of the area overnight. These winds will begin to back off by Thursday morning, but we still should see sustained winds of around 15 mph during the day, with higher gusts. Highs will likely top out in the low 50s for most, even with the sunny skies. The winds will make it feel colder, so be sure and bundle up. Lows Thursday night will likely reach near freezing, but remain a few degrees above this threshold except for areas well inland.

Christmas Day

The holiday will start out cold, but daytime temperatures should reach about 60 degrees under mostly sunny skies. This will be as a winter day should feel! Lows Friday night will drop into the low 40s for most.

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend will bring partly sunny skies and a warming trend, with highs in the mid-60s on Saturday, and likely around 70 by Sunday. Some light showers may develop on Sunday ahead of a weaker front that may, or may not, make it all the way to the coast. For now, rain chances are fairly low.

Next week

We should see continued a warming trend next week, with our next front perhaps arriving around New Year’s Eve, or a bit earlier. This is likely to bring a healthy chance of rain and cold weather heading into 2021. Details to come!

Good morning. Houston will see a fairly turbulent front move through on Wednesday and Wednesday night, but we expect things to calm down by later on Christmas Eve, and certainly Christmas Day. All in all it seems like Mother Nature will be doing her part to ensure a festive holiday.

Tuesday

Temperatures have generally fallen into the upper 40s across Houston this morning, but we’ll warm to about 70 degrees under mostly sunny skies later today. Winds will be light, coming from the south or southeast, making for a pleasant day. As clouds increase this evening, and with the southerly flow, I doubt temperatures will drop too far below 60 degrees for most of the area.

Wednesday

This day should bring a lot more clouds, and humidity levels will continue to ramp up as highs reach the mid-70s. We’ll see the development of mostly light to moderate showers later on Wednesday, in advance of a cold front. These showers likely will drop only a few tenths of an inch of rain, at most, for most of the area, but we can’t rule out development of a few thunderstorms. The bigger story will be the winds accompanying a front that will move into Houston during the evening hours. Overnight, winds could gust as high as 40 mph over parts of the region, so you’ll definitely want to prepare for that. Lows will drop down to near 40 degrees for all but the coast.

Christmas Eve

This will be a sunny, blustery, and cold day. Highs will struggle to get above the mid-50s, and with a brisk northerly wind a chill will definitely be in the air. The night before Christmas will see temperatures dip into the 30s, but most of the region should remain just above freezing.

Christmas Day

We’ll see placid weather for the Christmas holiday, with mostly sunny skies and highs pushing up to around 60 degrees. Really, there will be nothing to complain about here.

Saturday and Sunday

The onshore flow will become more pronounced by Friday night, and this will lead to more clouds and warming temperatures. The weekend should see a mix of sunshine and clouds as highs get into the mid-60s on Saturday, and low 70s by Sunday. A weaker front may bring another shot of drier air by Sunday night.