Eric Berger

September’s site sponsor: Meyerland Animal Clinic

A new month means a new sponsor for Space City Weather, and I’m pleased to announce that Meyerland Animal Clinic, P.A. has returned to again support the site in September.

(Meyerland Animal Clinic, P.A.)
(Meyerland Animal Clinic, P.A.)

 

Thanks to their generous support we can provide all of our weather content for free, and without advertisement, for the entire month of September. Here’s a little bit more about their business:

Meyerland Animal Clinic has been serving Bellaire, Meyerland and West Houston since 1976. A full service hospital, we are here to help support the community and care for your furry family members. Aside from state-of-the-art medical care, we offer boarding and day care services (Yes, even in inclement weather.) Please contact our office if we can be of service to you and your pets.

The advantage of the sponsorship model is that we are under no pressure to generate web traffic for the sake of web traffic—so there’s no hype, no click bait and no nonsense. All we’ll do is continue to make the best possible forecasts we can make. So if you appreciate that, and have furry friends, please check them out!

Labor Day is over, so the cold front watch begins in earnest

Labor Day may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to see an immediate end of summer-like weather. As long-time Houston residents know, the first half of September can often feel almost as warm as August. That’s why, when we get to this point we’re often pretty desperate for the first real cold front of the season, and this year is no different.

Probably the most simple way to define the first “real” cold front is when temperatures fall to 65 degrees, or lower, on or after Sept. 1. This generally weeds out rain-cooled days and anything that isn’t a genuine front. When we do this for Houston, the following pattern emerges for the first fall cold front, with an average date of Sept. 18.

Chart of Houston first 65°F minimum temperature on or after September 1st. (Brian Brettschneider)
Chart of Houston first 65°F minimum temperature on or after September 1st. (Brian Brettschneider)

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Strong, scattered storms likely for Labor Day afternoon

It may have been difficult to discern, but Friday and Saturday morning were a bit cooler and drier for Houston, especially northern parts of the region. Well, forget about that now, moisture began returning on Saturday to raise dew points and storm chances for the Labor Day Holiday.

Houston should see more of the same locally heavy storms that developed on Sunday across the region later today, although there may be some increase in coverage. As the storms should stream through the region at a fairly decent clip I don’t anticipate any flooding, but some areas could pick up 2 to 3 inches pretty quickly (while a few miles away may see dark clouds, but no rain).

Precipitable water levels will be about 140 percent of normal later today. (Weather Bell)
Precipitable water levels will be about 140 percent of normal later today. (Weather Bell)

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After one more hot day we’ll cool down a bit for Labor Day Weekend

Houston’s temperatures reached 95 degrees on Wednesday—also known as full summer—and we’ve got one more very warm day before things turn a little cooler, and a little grayer.

Today

With some high pressure over head, mostly sunny skies, and only slim afternoon rain chances today will be another very hot day for the region, with temperatures in the mid-90s. But even for early September, this is pretty typical weather for Houston.

Friday

On Friday a weak front will approach the region from the northeast, and should eventually push through the Houston metro area. Effectively this will increase cloud cover and raise rain chances a bit during the afternoon hours, and some areas may get a few tenths of an inch of rain. The front will moderate temperatures and dewpoints slightly, such that by around sunset, instead of a heat index of 95 degrees, we should see 85 degrees. It won’t feel amazing, but for early September, it should feel entirely pleasing.

A comparison of the GFS model forecast for relative humidity on Thursday night versus Friday night (bottom). (Weather Bell)
A comparison of the GFS model forecast for relative humidity on Thursday night versus Friday night (bottom). (Weather Bell)

(Thank you to Meyerland Animal Clinic for sponsoring Space City Weather this month.)

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