Eric Berger

After a record-setting weekend, “fall” returns to Houston this week

Note: We’re kicking off our annual fundraiser today, in which you can buy t-shirts to support the site, or donate money if you like. This is strictly optional, but it helps keep the lights on here, and supports the efforts of Matt and me during extreme weather events like Hurricane Harvey.

Houston experienced some very warm weather this weekend, both during the days and sticky nights, with the following records set or tied:

  • Saturday high temperature: Houston Hobby Airport, 88° (tying old record from 1988)
  • Sunday high temperature: Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport, 88° (tying old record from 1963)
  • Sunday, high minimum temperature: Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport, 74° (beats old record of 71° from 1922)
  • Sunday, high temperature: Hobby Airport, 90° (beats old record of 87° from 2005)
  • Sunday, high minimum temperature: Hobby Airport, 75° (beats old record of 71° from 2015)

Monday and Tuesday

We’re going to remain in this stagnant, muggy, and decidedly un-fall-like weather pattern for a couple of more days before a cold front finally breaks the region out of this funk. On Monday and Tuesday look for highs in the upper 80s for most of the region, with partly sunny skies. We should also continue to have warm nights before the front arrives.

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51 inches. 5-1 victory. Houston Strong.

Congratulations to the Houston Astros, the 2017 World Series Champions. This was the team the city of Houston needed after Hurricane Harvey to help lift us up. And what was particularly poignant to me was the final score on Wednesday night, 5 to 1. Hurricane Harvey dropped 51 inches. It’s almost as if this victory was meant to be.

Thursday and Friday

Although Houston just won the Fall Classic, it’s not going to feel much like fall outside. Both Thursday and Friday will see high temperatures in the low to mid-80s, under partly to mostly cloudy skies, and very warm nights in the low 70s. A few stray showers are possible on Thursday and Friday, but they should not last too long, and accumulations should be slight.

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A few words on water filtration and plumbing

For thousands of Houston area residents, the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey remains a day-to-day grind as repairs continue on damaged homes. For others, memories of the storm are receding as fall finally descends upon Houston. As a reminder for those still recovering from the storm, our sponsor, Reliant, offers home repair services, backup generators and even home security. This month’s post about Reliant, however, will discuss the area of water filtration and plumbing.

Water Filtration

Water filtration service.

You drink water, bathe in it, and use it to wash your clothes and dishes. You deserve water that’s clean, safe and refreshing. Although the city of Houston, and other regional providers, offer safe, clean water there are additional options for further water purification. Reliant typically recommends and offers a whole home filtration with a salt-free water softening system.

Why consider this? These systems are eco-friendly, don’t waste water, don’t use electricity and don’t discharge anything into the environment. Water filtration systems can normally be installed in one day, either indoors or outdoors.

System options can include:

  • Water softening: part of a whole-home filtration system, water softening can extend the life of appliances, like your water heater or dish washer, by preventing scale, corrosion, excess chlorine and other harmful agents
  • Compact filtration systems: if whole-home filtration isn’t right for your residence, you can still enjoy clean, healthy drinking water with a compact system that filters water at the point-of-entry to the home
  • Advanced options: Water-heater shields, UV and reverse osmosis systems, salt- and maintenance-free

All water purification systems installed by Reliant are backed by manufacturer warranties and maintained by Reliant’s trained professional team.

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After a wet night, Houston faces about a week of warm weather

Following a wet Halloween night and soggy start to Wednesday, Houston should dry out some later today as a storm system moves off to the east of the region. However, we cannot rule out a few lingering storms this morning for central parts of the area, and into the early afternoon hours for the eastern side of the metro area, including the slight possibility of a tornado. After today, rain chances fall, and Houston warms quite a bit for early November.

Wednesday

As anticipated, about 0.5 to 2.5 inches of rain fell across the Houston region, but fortunately we did not see any of the really heavy rainfall that might cause street flooding—or worse.

Rainfall accumulation from 6am Tuesday to 6am Wednesday. (Harris County OEM)

The stalled front and associated instability will move off to the east today, and I expect rains to end in Houston by or before noon. But for areas to the east of Interstate 45 we can’t rule out a tornado today given the potential for some rotation. Any twisters that do form should be short-lived. Highs should reach about 80 degrees for most of Houston, with a correspondingly warm night.

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