Eric Berger

Most of the region has dropped into the 40s this morning—so far Bush Intercontinental Airport has fallen to 46. We’re still well off record lows (38 degrees, officially, for Houston) but these temperatures are still a good 10 to 15 degrees below normal. I feel reasonably confident in predicting that Houston will not see temperatures this cold again for six months. However, we will have one more nearly as cold night tonight, so with summer in mind, please do enjoy it.

Wednesday

If you liked Tuesday, Wednesday should be similar after a reinforcing front moved through. Highs likely will reach about 70 degrees with winds subsiding to 5 to 10 mph this afternoon out of the north. Low temperatures tonight will probably drop down to within a couple of degrees of Tuesday night’s lows, with clear skies and light winds.

Thursday

Another very pleasant spring day for the region. However, as high pressure shifts to the east, winds will swing around to return from the Gulf, and there will be a slight uptick in humidity during the afternoon hours. Highs Thursday will probably reach the mid- to upper 70s under sunny skies, with overnight lows in the 60s.

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Low temperatures this morning are running a good 10 degrees below normal for mid-April, with the mid-40s far to the north of Houston, around 50 in the city, and mid-50s along the coast. This cooler weather will last for a few more days before a warmer pattern begins to emerge by Thursday.

Tuesday

Houston remains under the influence of high pressure over much of the United States, allowing for a cool, northerly flow to dominate our weather. As a result we can expect mostly sunny skies, with a March-like high of 70 degrees. Winds will be fairly light, out of the north at about 10 mph. With a secondary front pushing through during the overnight hours, Tuesday night and Wednesday morning likely will be the coldest of the week—perhaps the coldest night for the rest of spring. Lows probably will reach the upper 40s for most of the area.

Wednesday

Another stellar stay, with mostly sunny skies and light winds out of the north. With highs of around 70 degrees, this, too, may be the last “cool” day for quite a while in Houston. We should have one more really chilly night, with low temperatures dropping down to nearly 50 on Thursday morning.

Thursday

Winds turn southeasterly on Thursday, beginning the process of a warmer, more humid onshore flow. This should still be a pretty nice spring-like day, however, with highs in the upper 70s under sunny skies. Lows Thursday night will be warmer, dropping only into the 60s.

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Easter Sunday was a rather interesting weather day in Houston that illustrated a couple of different phenomena. The first part of the day was rather humid, with a strong line of storms that passed well to the north of Houston, eventually dragging a front into Houston. Temperatures just before the front passed were in the upper 70s, with dewpoints right behind in the low 70s, making for muggy weather indeed. Then the front pushed through, causing three things to happen.

Winds surged out of the west, gusting well into the 30s for most of the area, and the 40s along the coast. This brought in a rapid influx of much drier air. Dewpoints plunged into the 40s. This drier air, in concert with the sun, helped temperatures spike into the low 90s for much of Houston—both Bush Intercontinental (92 degrees) and Hobby Airport (93 degrees) broke records. And then that same dry air allowed temperatures to fall into the 50s this morning. Now we’ll enjoy several days of splendid spring weather.

Monday

Although winds died down overnight, they will pick up again some today, although gusts are unlikely to rise much above 20 mph. We can otherwise expect sunny conditions on Monday with highs of around 70 degrees. It’s going to be quite nice! Lows Monday night will drop into the upper 40s for areas well inland, while remaining in the upper 50s along the coast.

Tuesday and Wednesday

A second front will push through later on Tuesday, and this should keep our dry air, mostly sunny skies, and cool air in place. Expect highs in the low 70s, and lows in the 50s—cooler inland and warmer near the coast. At this point, Wednesday morning may be the coolest of the week.

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Good morning. Confidence is increasing in the potential for severe weather this afternoon and evening in Houston. The primary threats from this will be strong thunderstorms, and the potential for large hail and downbursts. The chances for hail and damaging winds are better for the western half of the metro area.

Thursday

Skies are mostly cloudy this morning, with temperatures in the 70s. Clouds will remain as highs work their way into the upper 80s this afternoon. Storms are likely to get organized off to the west and north of Houston late this afternoon, and shift into the metro area from about 5pm to 10pm tonight. While most of the region probably will get around 1 inch of rain, or less, these storms have the potential to pretty quickly drop 3 or more inches in some locations. Therefore it is possible we will see some brief street flooding later this evening. The front should exit off the coast, along with the heavier rainfall, by or before midnight.

Friday

A few light showers may be possible Friday morning before sunrise, but for the most part we can probably expect mostly cloudy skies transitioning to some sunshine during the afternoon hours. With forecast highs in the mid-70s and lower humidity, this could turn into a fairly nice spring-like day. Which is good, because Saturday probably won’t be so nice.

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