Eric Berger

Summer-lite returns to Houston for the next week or so

Temperatures reached 89 degrees on Wednesday, and there’s more anomalously warm weather ahead for the region as a stagnant, late-summer pattern holds sway.

Thursday and Friday

A front moving into north Texas will stall well to the northwest of Houston, but some of the associated instability could work its way into the region today and tomorrow. This should result in some slight rain chances on both days, especially to the northwest of the metro area in places like College Station, although we’re probably not looking at widespread rain. Highs in the upper 80s, lows in the low 70s.

Saturday through Tuesday

Hello, summer. A higher pressure moves back into the area look for several days of partly to mostly sunny skies with highs near 90 degrees, and lows in the lower 70s. Rain chances should be near zero. These temperatures will be a good 8 to 10 degrees above normal for mid-October.

Temperatures on Monday may be as much as 15 degrees above normal. (Weather Bell)
Temperatures on Monday may be as much as 15 degrees above normal. (Weather Bell)

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Houston’s weather: Warm, humid and basically blah

The good news is that Houston finally received a bit of rain on Tuesday. It certainly wasn’t an overwhelming amount, but for some areas 0.5 inch of rain or more is nothing to sneeze at. The bad news is that this is probably all the rain the region is going to get for awhile. And meanwhile, the humid air isn’t going anywhere.

Some areas of Harris and Galveston counties received in excess of 0.5 inch of rain on Tuesday. (National Weather Service)
Some areas of Harris and Galveston counties received in excess of 0.5 inch of rain on Tuesday. (National Weather Service)

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No sugarcoating it—Houston’s weather is about to suck for awhile

Good morning. Some isolated showers have moved into the Houston are this morning as a southerly flow returns from the Gulf of Mexico. Hopefully more of the area will see rain later today before high pressure settles in. Either way the heat and humidity is coming back for a good long while.

Today

Some of the high-resolution models show pretty decent shower coverage later this morning and during the afternoon hours, as daytime heating develops. Some areas may receive as much as one half to one inch of rain today (others won’t see any, alas), and partly to mostly cloudy skies should limit high temperatures in the mid- to upper-80s. Lows tonight will be in the lower 70s.

Wednesday through Friday

After today we’re going to see higher pressures dominate Houston’s weather for the rest of the work week, and it’s not going to be fall-like at all. Days should be mostly sunny with highs in the upper 80s to possibly even 90 degrees. Overnight lows will be around 70 degrees north of Houston, and in the low 70s in the city and closer to the coast. We can’t rule out some storms on Friday as a cool front moves into northern Texas, but I don’t think the showers and thunderstorms associated with that front will make it all the way to Houston (the front itself won’t, unfortunately).

This is one depressing forecast from the GFS model for the next 10 days. (Weather Bell)
This is one depressing forecast from the GFS model for the next 10 days. (Weather Bell)

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One more pleasant before … ugh … summer-lite returns to Houston

It’s a beautiful fall-like morning across Houston, with lows in the lower 50s for northern parts of Houston, mid- to upper-50s for much of the rest of the area, and lows even in the upper 60s closer to the coast. Alas, it is not going to last.

Today

We’re going to have one more pretty nice day. Highs today should only reach around 85 degrees, with lows falling into the 60s for most of the Houston area. Drier air will keep humidity levels down. Unfortunately the winds are going to shift back out of the south later today, spelling the return of warmer, more humid weather.

Tuesday

This returning moisture could lead to the development of a few showers on Tuesday, most likely along the coast. Highs under partly cloud skies should remain in the mid-80s, with overnight lows likely back around 70 degrees by Tuesday night.

Wednesday through Friday

Did you miss summer? Because it’s coming back, sort of, with a southerly flow off the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately we’re not going to see a return of the rainfall we saw during much of the summer, because that is something we need.

NOAA rain accumulation forecast for now through Saturday. (Weather Bell)
NOAA rain accumulation forecast for now through Saturday. (Weather Bell)

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