It has been quite a different middle of August for the greater Houston region. During the last eight days the high temperature has stayed in the 80s for six of those days, with a maximum of 92 degrees. And the rain. We’ve had lots of it. The greater Houston metro area has recorded 4 to 16 inches of rain during the last two weeks—an uncharacteristically wet spell for the dead of summer.
Here’s a rainfall accumulation map for the last 14 days:
It has been a partly to mostly sunny day for much of the Houston with a few rain showers developing across the city. But the second half of the weekend and into Monday looks notably wetter.
For tonight heavy rain will remain to the west of Houston, most concentrated over the Hill Country. A stalling cold front along with ample moisture will set the table for potentially flooding rains in the San Antonio and Austin areas. Forecast models support the idea of some areas receiving in excess of 10 inches of rain between Saturday morning and Sunday night.
Through the first 12 days of this month Houston had an average high temperature of 99 degrees, including five consecutive days with highs of 100 degrees or above. Overnight lows were sticky, too. We all felt the sizzle. But as high pressure moved out, and clouds and rain moved in, daytime temperatures have plummeted. During the last three days Houston has enjoyed high temperatures averaging 85.5 degrees, and morning lows of 75 degrees.
Of course the counterpart to these delightfully “cool” temperatures for August has been the potential for flooding, and it’s not going away quite yet I’m afraid. Houston remains under a flash flood watch through at least 7pm Wednesday evening.
Houston experienced another wet day Monday, but with nearly all of the metro area receiving 2 inches of rain or less the water levels were manageable, and flooding limited as bayous were able to fall back down to near-normal levels.
As a bonus, highs generally only climbed in the mid- to upper 80s, and lows fell into the mid-70s this morning across much of the region. It feels—almost—nice outside. Especially for August.
The greater Houston region remains under a flash flood watch through this evening, and it’s not hard to understand why. Although bayous are generally low, area soils are now wet, and any rain that falls will flow directly into bayous. With atmospheric moisture levels still quite high, it will be possible for some isolated areas to pick up an additional 3 to 5 inches today, the National Weather Service warns.
With that said, most of Houston will likely see a day similar to Monday—mostly cloudy skies punctuated by some relatively short-lived but potentially intense thunderstorms. I’m hopeful we will not see widespread flooding, but given the moisture in the atmosphere we can’t rule it out. Be sure and enjoy those highs in the 80s.
Atmospheric moisture levels will slowly fall, and along with it we should see slightly fewer daily showers, and those that form should have a bit less intensity. We’re still likely to see rainfall, but the threat of significant flooding should decrease as we get further into the work week. Highs will remain seasonally cool, in the mid- to upper-80s.
