Breezy front coming, with cooler weather ahead for Houston

As expected, an area of showers moved through the metro area this morning prior to sunrise, dropping 0.5 to 1.5 inch of rain for most of the region. This mass of showers has now pushed east of the area, and as of 6 a.m. the trailing edge was about half way between Houston and Beaumont. A gusty front will follow this afternoon or evening.

Thursday

Some scattered showers will remain possible today until the early afternoon hours, but we’ll see nothing like the organized storms that pushed through earlier this morning. Skies may even become partly sunny this afternoon before westerly winds kick in and a strong front arrives.

This front may produce a very thin line of storms, or a few scattered thunderstorms, as it moves through, but for the most part I think it will probably be dry in terms of rainfall. This westerly flow will push temperatures down this evening, and we can expect a gusty overnight with lows generally in the mid-40s. If you’re heading out this evening, please bring at least a windbreaker.

Maximum wind gusts expected between now and Saturday evening. (National Weather Service)

Friday

This will be a cold, gray, and windy day—with gusts up to about 30mph or perhaps a bit higher along the coast. Highs for most parts of the region will barely reach 50 degrees. Despite mostly cloudy skies Friday night, lows still should drop down to around 40 in most of the city.

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Showers tonight, windy Thursday, stunning this weekend

Conditions are quite a bit warmer across the metro area this morning, with most of the region somewhere in the 50s. Our forecast remains much the same as it’s been—with unsettled weather for a day or so, breezy weather, and then clearing conditions for what should be an excellent December weekend.

Wednesday

Today will be warm-ish for mid-December, with highs in the upper 60s under cloudy skies. Steady, southerly winds will bring the humidity, and also be pushing up moisture levels that will boost rain chances during the overnight hours. Although some light showers are possible Wednesday afternoon and evening, most high-resolution models hold off any stronger storms until later Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Thursday morning

As an upper-level disturbance moves in from the west, and a cold front barrels down from the northwest, it now appears as though a fairly robust line of showers will move through southeast Texas on Thursday morning, roughly from around 2am through 8am.

Rain accumulations should be greater to the east of Houston. (National Weather Service)

This line of storms doesn’t look too severe—although some thunderstorms are possible—but showers should be heavy enough to drop 1 to 2 inches of rainfall on their way through the area. Fortunately the storms should make fairly steady progress and not linger too long.

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After a frosty morning, and a rainy Thursday, the weekend looks exceptional

Another cold and frosty morning for the region, with a light freeze for areas north of Houston, including Conroe and Huntsville, and mid- to upper-30s in the city itself. We’ll now see a moderate warming trend through Thursday, before another (quite blustery, as it turns out) front pushes into the area. This weekend looks spectacular for December—especially Sunday.

Observed temperatures at 6 a.m. Tuesday. (National Weather Service)

Tuesday

After the chilly start today, we should warm into the lower or even mid-60s under mostly sunny skies. A wind shift to the southeast will aid in the warm-up, and this onshore flow will also keep temperatures tonight a good 10 to 15 degrees warmer than Monday night. Skies turn partly cloudy tonight.

Wednesday

As the onshore flow does its thing, we’ll see a corresponding increase in moisture levels, and our partly cloudy skies will become mostly cloudy. This should limit highs to the upper-60s during the daytime, and we likely won’t see much of a cooldown during the evening hours. Some light showers will be possible later during the afternoon or evening, but probably will hold off until later.

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Sunny skies return, with mid-week rain chances before another front

After an oh-so-gray weekend, skies have finally cleared out overnight and this has allowed temperatures to fall to near-freezing north of Houston, into the upper 30s for most of the city, and mid-40s along the coast. With light northwesterly winds out there, it’s quite cold this morning.

Monday

High pressure will dominate our weather today, and although skies will be mostly sunny, temperatures probably won’t rise much out of the mid-50s. Low temperatures on Monday night should be similar to Sunday night, so it will be another one for fireplaces and heaters.

Expect another chilly night on Monday night. (National Weather Service)

Tuesday

This should be another sunny day, and start out a lot like Monday. However, as high pressure moves off, winds will return from the south or southeast later in the day, and this should moderate overnight temperatures. Lows Tuesday night probably will not fall below 50 degrees as the warmer Gulf of Mexico air mass exerts its influence.

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