Eric Berger

A warm, dry weekend for Houston, but some clouds return for the eclipse

Summer continues, with not a whole lot of change in the forecast through the weekend. As has been the case for much of the week, a moderately strong ridge of high pressure will continue to assert some control over our weather to bring August-like conditions to the area.

Thursday through Sunday

You know the drill by now—partly to mostly sunny days, high temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s with humidity, and lows in the upper 70s. A few (very few, most likely) areas will see some showers during the late morning and afternoon hours, but for the most part we should be dry. This is classic August weather for Houston.

Monday and Tuesday

By late Sunday or Monday, an upper-level low pressure system will begin to influence our weather as well, which should bring some changes. Most notably, we’ll see a few more clouds (we discuss eclipse concerns below), some better rain chances, and lower high temperatures, perhaps in the low 90s. By no means are we looking at widespread, heavy rainfall, but 30 to 40 percent of the region should see a couple of tenths of an inch of rainfall on both days. Highs should jump back up into the mid-90s by the second half of next week.

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Houston is hot, eclipse coming, and tropics active

Houston remains in a typical August-like pattern, with high pressure largely in control of our weather, but not dominating. Were a strong high overhead we’d be having temperatures around 100 degrees, with no chance of rain. But since the high isn’t dominant, there’s a chance for some scattered rain showers each day. Mind you, most of Houston isn’t going to see rain through Saturday, but there is at least a chance. Since the forecast is rather dull we’ll also talk about the tropics and eclipse weather today.

Wednesday to Saturday

See above. Hot, with highs in the mid- to upper-90s. Warm nights. Mostly sunny. A few showers will develop during the afternoon hours.

Sunday to Tuesday

Pressures fall a bit, allowing for slightly better rain chances, perhaps in the 30 to 40 percent range each day, with the higher end chances for the eastern half of the area. These probably won’t be real soakers—likely some areas will see a couple of tenths of an inch of rain, while most of the area won’t see that much, if any rain. Highs may pull back to the mid-90s. That’s still hot, but we’ve certainly had hotter Augusts.

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One silver lining about August in Houston—this too shall pass

We have reached the real dog days of summer. The middle of August almost always feels like this, with low temperatures hovering around 80 degrees for most of Houston, and highs in the upper 90s. Afternoon temperatures have reached 96 or 97 degrees the last five days in Houston, and unfortunately that pattern seems unlikely to change significantly for most of the rest of the month.

On Monday a reader wrote in and asked, I know you don’t have a crystal ball and are not clairvoyant, but I’m sooooooo over this summer I need a little encouragement. What does our Fall/ Winter have in store for us? I don’t have much confidence in seasonal forecasts, but I do know this. August is already half over. Already, days are an hour shorter than they were in June. Fall is not here yet, but it also isn’t that far around the corner. We can reasonably begin to expect some relief in about four weeks, or so. Until then—heat.

Length of the day in Houston. White line shows where we are today. (Time and Date)

Tuesday and Wednesday

While pressures are high across the region, they’re not entirely stifling. Some parts of Houston, especially east of Interstate 45, have an outside shot at some showers later this afternoon. Most of Houston will not see rain, but at least there’s a chance. Otherwise, highs will remain in the mid- to upper-90s.

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And … welcome back to August, Houston.

After a relatively cool and wet first week of our region’s hottest month, we now return you to your regular August programming, Houston. That’s right, high pressure is building, and temperatures are rising.

Thursday and Friday

Skies will become partly sunny to end the work week, and this will allow for warmer days, with highs in the lower 90s near the coast, mid-90s in Houston, and upper 90s for areas further inland. The sea breeze should be strong enough to produce some scattered showers during the afternoon and evening hours, but except for some isolated downpours, I don’t expect accumulations to be too significant. With the humidity, heat index values will be very high, likely above 105 degrees, so please take care outdoors during the warmest part of the day.

Saturday and Sunday

Rain chances should fall back to near zero over the weekend, with highs remaining about the same under partly to mostly sunny skies. This will be a classic August weekend in Houston so if you can manage it, the best outdoor activities will involve some sort of water or other means to cool down. Fortunately the moist ground from our recent rainfall should keep highs in the mid-90s in Houston, rather than the upper 90s, but this is a small consolation.

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