Warming up now, but the weekend looks pretty meh for Houston

After what can only really be described as absolute perfection on Monday, Houston’s weather will turn a little windier, a little warmer, a little more humid, and by the end of the week more stormier. Still, all things considered with summer looming, this should be a pretty fine spring week.

Tuesday

Following a chilly start, with low temperatures in the upper 50s, the mercury will rebound pretty quickly and we’ll see highs in the low 80s. The onshore flow has really reestablished itself, and that will manifest itself with gusty southerly winds later today. Skies will remain sunny. Overnight lows probably will only dip into the mid-60s for most of Houston, as humidity levels remain pretty high.

Check out those highs in West Texas on Tuesday afternoon. (Pivotal Weather)

Wednesday

Due to an approaching (weak) cold front, and rising moisture levels from the onshore flow, lot of clouds will return to the region on Wednesday. We may also see some scattered showers, but any accumulations should be pretty slight—maybe enough to get the street wet but not a whole lot more. Highs will be around 80 degrees. The front should reach Houston later on Wednesday, and ever so slowly sag down toward the coast during the evening or overnight hours. It won’t have much oomph.

See full post

A mostly sunny week for Houston, but storms may return Saturday

Houston won’t reach record lows this morning (38 degrees, set in 1983), but for mid-April it is quite cold out, with upper 30s north of the city in places like Conroe and Cleveland, and mid- to upper-40s across most of the rest of the region except for coastal areas. I feel confident in writing that this will be our coldest spell of weather—Sunday and Monday mornings—for at least six months. We’ll return to more seasonal conditions for the rest of this week.

Houston area temperatures at 6:30am CT on Monday. (NOAA)

Monday

A fine, fine day with only very light winds, sunny skies, and high temperatures in the upper 70s. Later this afternoon winds will swing to come out of the south, representing the beginning of an onshore flow, but we’ll still see a cool-ish night tonight, with lows in the upper 50s for inland areas, and lower 60s along the coast.

Tuesday and Wednesday

These days will be a bit warmer, and more humid as atmospheric moisture levels rise. The southerly winds could be gusty at times. I’d expect high temperatures in the low 80s, with warmer nights in the mid- to upper 60s. I think we’re still going to see partly to mostly sunny skies. A weak cool front will push into Houston on Wednesday, and probably move just off the coast. While we can’t 100 percent rule out any showers with this front, I think a capping inversion will prevent most people from seeing any rainfall.

See full post

Sunday morning will probably be Houston’s coldest until November

Overall, the forecast remains pretty much the same. We’re watching for the possibility of storms on Friday night with the passage of a pretty robust cold front, and then looking for several days of really pleasant spring-time weather.

Thursday

The story for today will be winds. Onshore breezes will ramp up to 10 to 20 mph this afternoon, with higher gusts, in response to a large low pressure system in the Midwestern United States. Along with these winds, Houston should see a partly to mostly sunny day, with high temperatures around 80 degrees. A warm night, with lows only falling to around 70 degrees, will follow.

Friday through Saturday morning

Scattered showers, and a few thunderstorms, will be possible during the daytime on Friday as a cold front moves into Texas, but a capping inversion probably will keep most activity north of the Houston metro area. Most likely, we will have to wait until around sunset, or perhaps the overnight hours, for rain chances to really rise as the front moves through Houston.

Severe weather chances are better north of Houston on Friday and Friday night. (NOAA)

Forecast models indicate a relatively quickly moving line of storms is likely to form along the front, although it’s not clear how intense these storms will be as the slide down toward Houston and the coast. Most areas probably will see less than 1 inch of rain as the front rolls through, and if this line of storms is broken, parts of Houston may not see much rainfall at all. The front will push off the coast by around 7am on Saturday, ending the chances of any storms, although some light rain may linger for a few hours.

See full post

Severe storms possible Friday night, pleasant thereafter for Houston

It’s chilly across Houston this morning, with lows ranging from about the lower 40s up north in Conroe to the mid-50s near the coast. After this morning, we’ll enter a warming trend with rising moisture levels that will set the stage for thunderstorms and potentially some severe weather later on Friday and Saturday morning.

It’s a great spring morning across Texas, with chilly temperatures Wednesday. (Weather Bell)

Wednesday

Highs today will rise into the upper 70s, with sunny skies. This will be another gorgeous spring day for Houston; but with light, southerly winds resuming this morning, overnight temperatures will probably be a good 10 to 15 degrees warmer tonight than they were Tuesday night.

Thursday

Another mostly sunny day, but we’re definitely going to feel the onshore flow resume in earnest, with gusty southerly winds, and this will help to ramp up humidity levels. Highs will probably level off at about 80 degrees, and with clouds building Thursday evening we can expect a warm, almost summer-like night with overnight lows only falling into the lower 70s for most of Houston.

See full post