Warm ahead for Houston, with an eye toward the tropics

Good morning. Houston has clearly moved into a summer-like pattern of weather, and our weather won’t change much over the next several days. And we probably won’t change too much next week, unless an area of disturbed weather in the tropics migrates to the north. We’ll discuss that possibility below.

Today

There may be a few spotty showers across central and eastern portions of Houston today, but for the most part a building ridge of high pressure should shut rain chances down for the area. Look for mostly sunny skies with high temperatures in the low 90s.

Friday and Saturday

Warm and sunny, with highs in the low- to mid-90s, and overnight lows around 80 degrees.

Sunday through Tuesday

The high pressure that will largely dominate our weather from now through Saturday or so may slip away to the north by Sunday, opening up the possibility of some isolated or scattered showers during the daytime. Temperatures will be warm when it’s not raining, with highs likely rising into the mid-90s. That will be new for us, as the warmest it’s gotten so far this year has been 93 degrees (twice).

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Heat building, rains ending, as summer solstice looms

As the reality of summer settles in for Houston, we can offer you one saving grace—the summer solstice is just six days away. June 20th will be the longest day of the year at 14 hours, 3 minutes. The Sun will be almost directly overhead during the middle of the day, at 84 degrees altitude. After passing the solstice, we’ll at least be able to begin counting down toward fall as days get a little bit shorter beginning next week. It’s a small hope, but the only hope we can offer at this point.

Today

High pressure will begin to build over the area today, but there’s enough moisture to still squeeze out a few showers for Houston, especially over the eastern half of the area. They will be scattered and likely brief. Highs otherwise in the low 90s.

Heat is building over the area. Here are some basic reminders. (National Weather Service)

Thursday through Sunday

June-like weather will prevail as high pressure builds over the region. That is to say, we’ll see high temperatures generally in the low 90s, lows in the upper 70s, with partly to mostly sunny skies and almost nil rain chances. 

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Summer blahs for Houston with muggy nights and mornings

Houston is experiencing a typically steamy morning for this time of year, with lows in the upper 70s across most of the region. If you had forgotten, this is what summer feels like. And if I’m being honest, the lack of any real overnight cooling during summer is my least favorite part of the weather here.

Summer-time lows for Texas on Tuesday morning. (Weather Bell)

Tuesday and Wednesday

Warm, muggy conditions will continue for the region, with highs in the low 90s, and overnight low temperatures in the upper 70s. With decent atmospheric moisture levels, both days will probably see some scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours, but these will probably be short-lived.

Thursday through Saturday

As pressures rise, rain chances will go down toward the end of the work week. While I’m not entirely ruling out a chance of showers during the afternoon hours, for the most part these should be sunny, warm days in the low 90s, with warm nights.

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Summer has arrived in Houston and is here to stay

Summer—steamy, humid, and hot—is finally here. Houston certainly enjoyed a nice reprieve last week, as Bush Intercontinental Airport recorded a streak of four mornings (Thursday through Sunday) of low temperatures ranging from 67 to 69 degrees. The monthly average temperature so far is about 2 degrees below normal.

But by Sunday afternoon it “felt” like summer outside, and that’s how conditions will remain for about the next three months, and of course we’re only going to get warmer as we get deeper into July and August.

Today

After several mostly sunny days, clouds will return to the forecast area today, and this will herald a pretty decent chance of rain. Moisture levels are higher to the east of Houston, so rain chances will be considerably higher to the east of Interstate 45 than to the west. So look for scattered showers for the eastern half of Houston, and fairly isolated showers to the west. Accumulations for the most part will be low, perhaps a tenth of an inch of rain or two. Highs today should be around 90 degrees, with muggy overnight lows in the upper 70s.

Tuesday

A similar day to Monday, although with a bit less moisture I’d expect a bit less rainfall coverage for the area. Humidity levels remain very high, with temperatures around 90 degrees and lows in the upper 70s.

Don’t expect too much rain this week, as the 7-day NOAA forecast indicates. (Weather Bell)

Wednesday through Friday

Moisture levels will fall off some, which will leave us in a summer-like pattern for the region. This means partly to mostly sunny skies, with a slight chance of afternoon showers as the sea breeze moves in. Look for highs in the low 90s, and overnight low temperatures in the mid-70s.

Saturday and Sunday

Moisture levels don’t look particularly high, but the upper-level pattern suggests that some storms may be possible. For now I’d feel comfortable saying there’s a 20 to 30 percent chance of storms for Houston, but most likely we’re going to see warm, partly sunny days.

Tropical note

We’re now about a dozen days into the Atlantic hurricane season. So far conditions have been calm, but forecast models are hinting at some development in the Caribbean Sea this weekend that may eventually move into the Gulf of Mexico. I say this not to alarm you, but because some people may share forecasts about this system that show something developing near Texas. I’m not ruling that out, but there are quite a few factors weighing against this happening right now, so I wouldn’t be overly concerned. We’ll watch it and let you know if there’s anything that matters.

Posted at 6:55am CT on Monday by Eric