In brief: Francine remains a strong tropical storm this morning, and we’re beginning to see the turn from northwest movement, to northern movement, to northeast that will ultimately carry the storm well away from Texas. Local impacts, for many not along the immediate coast, will be difficult to discern from a regular late summer-day in Houston.
Francine status and forecast
The overall forecast for Francine remains much as we have been saying for a couple of days now. The tropical system will remain well offshore from Texas, and effects for most of our area will be minimal. In fact, I would go so far as to say that by tomorrow people in Houston will be going, “Hurricane? What hurricane. This was a joke.” Well, people who didn’t know better will be thinking that at least—but not readers of this site.

Francine will not be a joke for southern Louisiana. The tropical storm has sustained winds of 65 mph, and is likely to move inland Wednesday afternoon or evening as a Category 2 hurricane. The state’s most populated area, from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, will be directly impacted with winds, rains, and storm surge. For complete coverage of these impacts to Louisiana, be sure to check our ongoing coverage at The Eyewall later this morning.
Tuesday and Wednesday
There are showers just offshore the Texas coast this morning, and the question is how far rains from Francine will penetrate inland into the Houston metro area today and tomorrow. The answer, I think, is not all that far. Based upon high resolution modeling, I expect to see a band of showers reach the coast around noon today, and then fall apart fairly quickly as it moves inland. Then, the region will see scattered rain chances through Wednesday evening. All in all, I could see the coast picking up 1 to 2 inches of rain, with inland amounts significantly less. Areas such as Katy or Tomball may not see any rain at all.

In terms of winds, I don’t expect much. If anything, the eventual track of Francine has pushed further to the east over night, and this really keeps the stronger winds at bay. We could see gusts of 25 mph or so in the city of Houston by Tuesday night, and perhaps 30 to 40 mph along the coast. But I don’t expect conditions seriously worse than this, and these kinds of winds will be fine if you need to be out and about. Seas will rise 1 to 3 feet above normal at high tide for coastal areas, including Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula.
The bottom line is that, for most of the Houston area, you won’t be able to tell there’s a hurricane passing offshore today and tomorrow. Skies will be mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-80s, which is cooler than normal for this time of year. Perhaps that’s our greatest takeaway from this storm, some slightly cooler days. I’m not complaining.
Thursday
We may see a few lingering showers on Wednesday night, but by Thursday we should see sunny skies and light, northwest winds at 5 to 10 mph. Highs will reach about 90 degrees.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
The weekend looks hot and partly to mostly sunny. Daytime temperatures will get into the low-90s for most locations, with nighttime temperatures in the mid-70s. If I squint I can make out a slight chance of rain returning to the forecast by Sunday, but it is probably only in the vicinity of 10 to 20 percent.

Next week
I don’t see much of a pattern change next week, as highs should remain in the low 90s, with low-end rain chances and plenty of sunshine. This is fairly typical, if slightly warmer than normal weather for mid-September, and should be good for the pool, beach, or whatever outdoor water activities you care to partake in.
Next update
We’ll have a brief update on Francine later this afternoon. Don’t expect any significant track changes that will impact Texas, however.