Eric Berger

Light rain possible today and Thursday before a cold weekend

January 20, 2016 at 7:56 am by Eric Berger

Temperatures are mild this morning, in the 50s for most of the Houston area, but a surge of colder air will move in tomorrow.

TODAY

A weak cold front is sagging into southeast Texas (temperatures are in the 40s in Brenham with low humidity), and will stall along the coast later today. This could provide the impetus for some scattered showers this afternoon, but I’m not expecting much rain. Highs will be in the upper 60s.

THURSDAY

A stronger front and upper-level low pressure system will move through Houston on Thursday. Before then highs should reach about 70 degrees. Although we can’t rule out the possibility of a few thunderstorms, right now the best dynamics for severe weather remain to the east, over Louisiana. Winds will pick up out of the north on Thursday afternoon as the front moves through, ending rain chances and likely clearing skies by sunset. Expect a breezy evening and cold night.

FRIDAY

Temperatures will fall to about 40 degrees by Friday morning, and expect continued gusty northern winds as cold air dives down across the Rockies and midwestern United States into Texas. Highs will likely only be in the mid-50s under mostly sunny skies.

SATURDAY

This will be a cold morning. Houston has a chance to see its second freeze of the season, although I expect most of central and southern portions of the metro area to remain just above freezing.

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Warmer, with light rains, before a cool and sunny winter weekend

January 19, 2016 at 7:49 am by Eric Berger

Good morning. Houston is warmer this morning, with lows in ranging from the low- to upper-40s, but the respite from winter won’t last too long.

TODAY

As the onshore flow resumes these more southerly winds will bring moisture back into the atmosphere, and we should see increasingly cloudy skies this afternoon and evening. Highs will climb into the upper 60s, somewhat dependent upon how early the clouds move in.

WEDNESDAY

Conditions will change Wednesday as a weak front approaches Houston and likely stalls along the coast. If moisture levels were higher I’d be confident in seeing some decent rain showers, but as we’ve been so dry for awhile, I expect only scattered, light rain on Wednesday, likely during the morning hours. Highs will be in the low 70s.

THURSDAY

A stronger cold front will likely move through the area on Thursday morning, and again I expect to see some scattered showers but nothing too heavy. Perhaps some areas will see a few tenths of an inch of rain, but it should be nothing to write home about. Highs will be about 70 degrees and I expect skies to begin clearing late on Thursday.

FRIDAY, SATURDAY and SUNDAY

The clearing will be driven by a very pronounced ridge of high pressure, shown in the forecast map for the upper level of the atmosphere on Friday, at noon.

Forecast map showing features in upper level of the atmosphere on Friday, noon. (Weather Bell)

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Final Houston Marathon forecast: Oh baby

January 15, 2016 at 4:24 pm by Eric Berger

This will be the final forecast for the Houston Marathon on Sunday, Jan. 17th. The TL;DR version is:

OH MY GOD THE WEATHER IS GOING TO BE NIGH PERFECT.

Today’s light northwesterly winds herald the arrival of a cool front, and we’ll see colder air steadily advecting into the area over the next couple of days. Moisture levels aren’t particularly high in the atmosphere, but there will be a chance of light rain tomorrow, likely during the afternoon hours. Cold air really takes hold by Saturday night. And so, for the marathon …

Start line temperature: 41°

Temperature at noon: 53°

Skies: Partly to mostly clear

Winds: 5-10 miles out of N-NE

Ideally the winds would be zero, but since they’re coming out of the north we can be assured of low dew points, which means low humidity and ideal cooling.

We’ll have Spring for a day, then return to winter this weekend

January 15, 2016 at 8:03 am by Eric Berger

Good morning. Today will provide a taste of spring-like conditions before more winter-like weather returns this weekend.

TODAY

After any lingering fog will burn off this morning, and we’ll have a mostly sunny sky. Although a cool front will arrive by this afternoon, temperatures will rise into the low 70s as the colder air lags. It will be the region’s warmest day in nearly three weeks. After the Sun sets we’ll start to cool off fairly quickly, however, with lows tonight in the 40s.

SATURDAY

Saturday will be cooler, as northerly air moves into the region, and an upper level storm system will bring some chances of rain, especially to the south-southeast of Houston. Even so I don’t expect any significant accumulations. Most areas will see a tenth of an inch of rain, at the very most. The day will be mostly cloudy.

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