Eric Berger

Sorry for the late post this morning. I’m still traveling, and Matt had some other business to attend to this morning. We’ll be back to our regular schedule next week. In the meantime, I’m unhappy to report that Houston’s weather still looks fairly lousy.

Friday

As the onshore flow ramps back up today, we can expect to see warmer conditions, with high temperatures near 70 degrees. There’s the possibility of a few scattered showers later this afternoon, but for the better rain chances we’re going to have to wait for tonight and Saturday.

Saturday

Ugh. We’re going to see a spike in atmospheric moisture levels beginning Friday night and into Saturday morning, and in combination with divergence over head (which allows the warm, moist air at the surface to rise), we’re going to see a really healthy chance of rain showers beginning Friday night and through part or most of the day on Saturday.

Right now the best chance of heavy rain seems likely to come on Saturday morning, when a few areas could see some rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour during the heaviest storms. This could be enough to cause street flooding, so please take care if you plan to be out and about. Overall, I’d anticipate widespread accumulations of 1 to 3 inches, which higher isolated totals possible. Highs Saturday will be around 70 degrees again. We’ll watch the potential of flooding for you, and update if needed.

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Good morning, everyone. It will be a fairly quick post this morning, as Matt is traveling, and I’m in Florida for the Falcon Heavy launch, which may liftoff as early as 12:30pm CT today. (If you’re interested check out these photos of me and Elon Musk near the launch pad on Monday).

Tuesday through Wednesday morning

A warm front has essentially stalled along the coast, and this is creating foggy conditions across much of the area, which may linger into the mid-morning hours. “Clearing” skies is a relative term, as skies will remain cloudy throughout the day. As that warm front lifts back north, it will generate some showers and probably some thunderstorms later this afternoon across the area, with the greatest potential for severe weather to the north-northeast of Houston. I expect most areas will see about one-half inch of rain today, give or take, as temperatures top out at about 70 degrees.

Wednesday

A cold front will push through the region early on Wednesday, likely moving through the city by or before sunrise. This will not immediately scour the rain chances from Houston, however, and I expect most of the region to pick up another half inch of rain, or so, before the region finally begins to dry out later on Wednesday, or Wednesday night. Temperatures will be quite a bit colder behind the front, so look for readings only in the low 50s on Wednesday after the front moves through.

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The onshore flow has kept temperatures generally in the 50s across the Houston area this morning, and as a result we’re seeing the development of some fog across the area, although visibilities for the most part remain OK.

Thursday

We should see partly sunny skies later this morning, and this will allow high temperatures to climb into the mid- to upper 70s, with Houston possibly seeing its warmest day of the year. As moisture levels rise and a front drops out of the north, we may see a some scattered, light rain showers this afternoon, evening, and during the overnight hours. However anything that forms should not be threatening. The front itself could reach the northern part of the metro area by or before sunset today, and move through the region during the overnight hours.

Friday

Any rain should end after the front moves through, and we’ll be left with a chilly day Friday as northerly winds blow in, and highs struggle to climb above the mid-50s. Mostly cloudy skies will add to the winter-like ambiance.

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Clear skies have allowed temperatures to cool down this morning, and more importantly they’ve afforded most of the region a good view of the total lunar eclipse. The Earth passed between the Sun and Moon just as the Moon set, and Sun rose over southeast Texas on Wednesday morning.

Wednesday

Southerly winds have returned to Houston, and this will allow temperatures to climb today to about 70 degrees under partly to mostly sunny skies. All in all, it should be a fairly pleasant day for the region, with temperatures tonight 10 to 15 degrees warmer than Tuesday night.

Thursday

Thursday will be even warmer, with highs in the mid-70s as southerly winds draw in warmth to the region. Some scattered, light showers are possible during the afternoon, evening, and overnight hours as a cool front approaches the area, and moves through. It should be off the coast before sunrise on Friday.

Friday

A much cooler day, with mostly cloudy skies and highs generally in the upper 50s. Winds will be out of the north, but I don’t think they’ll be too gusty like they are after some cold fronts we get. Lows Friday night should fall into the 40s for most of the region.

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