Eric Berger

Good afternoon. Just wanted to jump in with an update on storms anticipated for tonight. We’re wary. We’re watching. But we’re not overly worried—and we don’t think you should be either.

This front and associated strong squall line have received a lot of media attention this week, and we’re not entirely sure why. It may be because there really has not been any significant weather to hit Houston for three months or so. But if anything, the model trend today is toward a slightly less severe threat for greater Houston. It’s definitely prudent to be weather-aware tonight. And I wouldn’t be out and about when the squall line hits. But we will face worse threats later this year so let’s temper expectations.

The primary threats tonight are damaging straight-line winds (we may see some gusts above 60mph), potentially a few tornadoes, and possibly some hail. Here’s the timing for the worst of the weather, which should last an hour or less for most locations.

11 pm CT

Midnight

1 am CT

Stay safe! Please know that if conditions come in worse than expected we will be here to update as needed. Other than that, do enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend after the front passes.

We’ll say goodbye to sunshine for a couple of days, and our focus will now turn to the potential for severe weather on Friday night. A strong line of storms will sweep through Houston from west to east, likely from about 9pm to 3am. All of the usual threats will be there—large hail, damaging winds, and potentially tornadoes. Because of the storm’s progressive movement, we do not expect rain totals much above 0.5 to 1.5 for widespread areas, with higher isolated amounts. It may be severe, but it will be over quickly.

Thursday

Today will be mostly cloudy, with southerly winds continuing to pile moisture into the region. However, a fairly stiff capping inversion—this is situation where warmer temperatures higher up in the atmosphere prevent warm, moist air at the surface from rising—should preclude all but some scattered, light showers today. Highs will reach the upper 70s for most of the area, and temperatures Thursday night will not fall much below 70.

Friday

Friday will start out a lot like Thursday, with an increasing chance of storms throughout the afternoon and evening hours. While you may see some showers during the daytime hours (which will be warm, with highs again likely in the upper 70s), the main event will be a line of storms moving through. NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has expanded the area of “enhanced” weather somewhat southward and westward. This means it will be possible, but by no means certain that we will see strong wind gusts of 75+ mph, large hail and tornadoes. There will be heavy rainfall too, but it should move through quickly. The bottom line is that if you are out and about on Friday night, be very weather aware. (I’d definitely plan to be home before the storms hit). And if you’re at home, be prepared if a tornado warning is issued for your area.

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It is quite cold across Houston this morning, with temperatures generally in the 30s in outlying areas, and low 40s in the central Houston area. After days and days of sunny weather our skies should turn cloudy later today, warmer, and then stormy on Friday, before pleasant weather returns again for the weekend.

Wednesday

Just a quick note: With clear skies on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, please note that if you saw a white streak in the sky above Houston during the pre-dawn hours, it was this the of 60 Starlink satellites launched Monday night by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. (More information on how to see them here). They will gradually become fainter as they raise their orbits over the next month.

Overall, today should be another nice one, with partly sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60s. However, winds will become noticeable out of the south later this afternoon, gusting up to 20mph, bringing much more humid air into the region, and setting the stage for storms later this week. Lows Wednesday night will be considerably warmer, unlikely to fall below 60 degrees in Houston.

Thursday

A gray day. Expect highs to rise into the mid- to upper-70s despite the cloudy skies, More gusty winds from the south will continue to transport moisture inland, and we can’t rule out some scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours—but we don’t expect significant accumulations. Thursday night should be rather warm, likely in the upper 60s.

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A cool front slid into Houston during the overnight hours, setting the stage for two gorgeous days before we experience some potentially stormy weather heading into the weekend. But don’t worry, the weekend itself looks spectacular for mid-January.

Tuesday

The region will experience sunny skies today, with highs in the mid-60s. Winds should be reasonably light, out of the north at 5 to 10 mph. With clear skies and light winds, Tuesday night will offer the opportunity for ideal cooling, allowing temperatures to drop into the 30s north and west of Houston.

Wednesday

This will be another fine day, although sometime during the morning or early afternoon winds will shift to come from the southeast. This should allow highs to nudge a couple of degrees warmer during the day, and keep overnight lows to around 60 degrees in the city itself.

Thursday and Friday

The moisture return will set the stage for storms later on Friday, likely during the evening or overnight hours. Before this, we can expect warm and fairly humid weather—with highs in the upper 70s to possibly 80 degrees, and warm nights in the 60s. Skies will be mostly cloudy, with a 30 to 40 percent chance of light to moderate rain.

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