Severe storms possible Sunday ahead of an Arctic front

Hey all. Here’s a quick holiday weekend update on the possibility of severe weather Sunday in advance of a cold front.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has upgraded the outlook for severe weather on Sunday for parts of the Houston area to “enhanced,” which means there is a greater likelihood of organized thunderstorm activity, some potentially intense. For areas marked in orange below there is a 30 percent chance of severe thunderstorms occurring within 25 miles of a given location.

Severe weather outlook for Sunday. (NOAA Storm Prediction Center)
Severe weather outlook for Sunday. (NOAA Storm Prediction Center)

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A Merry Mosquito Christmas, but storms, then winter are coming

Merry Christmas, everyone! It sure doesn’t feel like a holiday out there, between the humidity and quarter-sized mosquitoes. And it’s going to get worse before it gets better. But it will get better.

TODAY

Although it’s moist at the surface, the mid- and upper-levels of the atmosphere are pretty dry. As a result we’re not going to see too much rain, if any today. The Sun might even peek out from time to time, but that’s just going to make things warmer. Today’s record high is 82 degrees, and we’re likely going to come close to that today.

SATURDAY

I expect Saturday to be a lot like today, albeit with stronger southerly winds during the late morning and afternoon hours. Skies will again be mostly cloudy, with slightly better rain chances. But I’d expect any rain to be very light.

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A forecast only the Grinch could love: Slight chance of storms on Christmas morning, and warm

We’ve got a few more warm — and potentially stormy — days before winter arrives in Houston.

TODAY

Overnight temperatures bottomed out this morning in the upper 50s across parts of Houston, but already a warm front has moved back in off the coast so it’s not chilly out. At all. Houston set a record high on Wednesday (81 degrees) and we’ll come close to, but probably not match today’s record of 82 degrees (set in 1955). Clouds and scattered rain chances should hold back temperatures just a bit.

CHRISTMAS

The forecast for Christmas comes straight from the Grinch.

Storm outlook for Christmas Day morning. (National Weather Service)
Storm outlook for Christmas Day morning. (National Weather Service)

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Warm this week, yes, but winter proper arrives by Monday

Good morning. It’s still warm out there, but winter — real winter for Houston — is finally in sight.

TODAY

It’s incredibly warm this morning in Houston. The record for a high minimum temperature today is 68 degrees, and this morning’s low was just 71 degrees. There’s a slight chance of rain this morning before skies clear out this afternoon and evening. We should see some sunshine and high temperatures could approach 80 degrees.

CHRISTMAS EVE

As some drier air moves in on Wednesday it will allow for some moderately cooler overnight conditions on Thursday morning, with lows at least 10 degrees cooler than today. However this won’t last as moisture comes charging back in from the Gulf of Mexico. This is unlikely to produce much rain, but it will set the stage for a wet holiday weekend.

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