Hot this week, but cooler weather likely to return next week

Good morning. Houston is headed toward a period of three very warm days before somewhat more moderate temperatures this weekend. But in case you feared that spring has entirely fled the region, we are reasonably confident that a fairly strong outbreak of cooler weather will arrive next week. Texas will mostly lie in the southern periphery of much colder temperatures for the United States, but we should still see a few nights in the 50s—and I’m not ruling out the 40s, either—about a week from today.

Next week should be significantly cooler than normal for much of the continental United States. (Pivotal Weather)

Tuesday

This morning is starting off foggy, but this should burn off by around 9am. After the fog goes away we’ll be left with a mostly cloudy and warm day. Winds at the surface will be light, out of the south or southwest, but if we go a little higher in the atmosphere we can see a pronounced southwesterly flow. This movement of warmer air into the region (see satellite image from early this morning below) will really help drive warmer temperatures. Highs Tuesday should get into the mid- to upper-80s, and overnight lows are unlikely to drop below 70. Rain chances are near zero.

False color satellite image from early Tuesday. (NOAA)

Wednesday

After a cloudy start, we expect some sunshine to break through on Wednesday afternoon. With partly sunny skies, we probably will see high temperatures nudge up to near 90 degrees, if not hit that plateau. Expect another warm night.

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Warming up through Wednesday, with some kind of front Thursday

Good morning. All in all, it ended up being a pretty darn nice weekend in Houston. On Friday and Saturday, much of the region got 1 to 2 inches of rainfall. We haven’t talked about it too much here, but the rainfall was really needed with much of the region under a moderate-to-severe drought (see below), and more warm weather on the way. Then, Sunday, was a pleasant spring-like day with a cool start and more sunshine that we originally expected. So, all-in-all, a good couple of days.

Drought conditions in Texas. (U.S. Drought Monitor)

Monday

The weak front that pushed into Houston this weekend is pulling back to the north, and this will help introduce a slight chance of showers into the forecast today. But mostly, skies will simply be cloudy, with rising humidity levels, and temperatures near 80 degrees. Winds will turn from the north to southeast throughout the day, remaining fairly light. Don’t expect much of a cool down Monday night, as insulating clouds and the warmer flow will keep lows at about 70 degrees.

Tuesday

This day will be a lot like Monday, albeit a few degrees warmer, with highs edging into the mid-80s. Again, we’ll see the possibility for some scattered showers and thunderstorms in the absence of high pressure. Expect another warmer night.

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Houston faces a soaker of a weekend

Well Houston, you were promised two days of beautiful, spring-like weather. Now that you’ve had them we’re heading back to a more moist, warm period through this weekend and most of next week. Let’s put it this way—we’re unlikely to see the 50s in Houston again until at least the weekend of April 11th. The bigger news, for now, is the likelihood of a wet weekend.

Thursday

Temperatures are starting out in the 60s this morning, and should warm into the mid- to upper-70s. Highs will depend in part on cloud cover, and if you see a few slivers of sunshine this afternoon it will make things a little bit warmer. Scattered light to moderate rain showers will be possible this afternoon and evening, especially north of Interstate 10, but we don’t expect anything too impactful. Winds will be mostly light, out of the southeast at 10 mph or less. Low temperatures tonight will probably fall down only to around 70 for most.

Severe weather outlook for Friday. (NOAA)

Friday

This will be another day like Thursday, albeit with a little bit better rain chances, and temperatures perhaps rising a little closer to 80 degrees during the day time. Friday night will be warm again, with a modest chance of thunderstorms, again with the best chances north and west of downtown Houston. The strongest thunderstorms should remain to the west of Harris County, near a slow-moving cold front as shown in NOAA’s severe weather outlook above.

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Enjoy today’s sunshine and drier air because…

Good morning. If you like sunshine, and less humidity, be sure and step outside today to soak some of it up. As we’ll discuss in this post, the region faces several days of partly- to mostly- to completely cloudy weather before conditions truly clear out again. Clouds will come first, and then rain later this week, likely peaking in intensity and coverage on Saturday with a decent soaking for most of the region.

After Wednesday, a lot of clouds for Houston. (Weather Bell/Space City Weather)

Wednesday

Conditions are clear and cool across Houston this morning, with temperatures ranging from the upper 40s near Conroe down to around 60 degrees right along the coast. These will likely be Houston’s coolest temperatures for the next 10 days as a warmer pattern begins to return later today with onshore winds. Still, this will be an exceptional spring day, with highs in the mid-70s and partly to mostly sunny skies. Low temperatures Wednesday night will be 5 to 10 degrees warmer than Tuesday night.

Thursday

The region’s pattern change really kicks in on Thursday as southerly winds get blowing, gusting up to 20 mph. We can expect partly to mostly cloudy skies, with highs in the upper 70s. Some light, scattered rain showers will be possible with the moisture return, but don’t expect anything heavy, or to last too long. Lows Thursday night will begin to feel more sticky, dropping only into the upper 60s.

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