Eric Berger

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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I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong on Tuesday night. I expected mostly cloudy skies to preclude local sightings of the full Moon—dubbed a supermoon by some because it is the closest full Moon of 2020, about 7 percent larger than a regular full Moon. However skies for the first couple of hours after sunset were clear, affording an amazing view of our heavenly companion. I hope you were able to enjoy it as well.

Wednesday

Skies are mostly cloudy this morning, with warm temperatures in the mid-70s. A few very scattered, light showers are possible before noon, but we should see some partial clearing of our skies this afternoon. This, in concert with a strong southwesterly flow aloft, will bring the region’s warmest day of the week. Depending on how much sunshine we see, highs will range from the mid-80s to low-90s across the region. Clouds should build again during the overnight hours, with another warm night in the 70s.

Thursday

This has the potential to be a more dynamic day, with an approaching cold front. This front, in concert with a disturbed upper atmosphere, will bring a healthy chance of showers to the region, along with a slight chance of severe thunderstorms and possibly hail. In terms of timing, my best guess right now is the afternoon through Thursday night, but hopefully we’ll get some clarity on this over the next 24 hours. In any case, Thursday will be cloudy, with highs in the 80s. The front arrives during the overnight hours.

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