Another Friday night front for Houston

Good Friday morning, and here we go again with another cold front and storm chances. Fortunately, while we can’t entirely rule out some severe weather, it seems fairly unlikely for most of us. We’ll see lingering clouds Saturday, but we’re set up for some beautiful weather Sunday.

Today

We’re socked in with clouds this morning, indicative of a lot of moisture in place at low levels of the atmosphere. This is all basically “trapped” under a capping inversion (“the cap”) that we often talk about this time of year. What this will likely do is inhibit thunderstorm development over much of the region during the day today, but it will keep things somewhat dreary with clouds and occasional showers or light rain in spots. While we can’t entirely rule out a stray storm north of the Houston area, any significant severe weather threat this afternoon will likely stay way to our north, closer to Texarkana.

While we can’t entirely rule out an isolated severe thunderstorm this afternoon in northern parts of the area, the best chances for severe weather are closer to Texarkana, Shreveport, and up into Arkansas. (NWS SPC)

It will remain fairly breezy, with gusty onshore winds sustained around 10-20 mph, with higher gusts, especially near the coast.

Tonight & Saturday

As we go into this evening, the cold front will begin to approach the area from the north and west. Right now, I would expect a fairly well organized band of showers and storms with it as it moves through the region around or after midnight. So expect to hear raindrops at some point tonight into Saturday early morning. Will we see severe weather? It’s possible, but I don’t think all the ingredients are quite there for it to occur. If we were to see storms go severe overnight, I think the primary threat would be strong winds. Still, even without severe weather lightning, thunder, gusty winds, and briefly heavy rain are all possible. Total rainfall will be under an inch for most of the region, with some areas likely seeing well under a half-inch.

The front pushes offshore Saturday morning. Expect continued clouds and perhaps even a few lingering showers through about midday Saturday. We should then see slow clearing. Winds will stay gusty but flip from onshore to offshore. Expect those to gradually diminish Saturday afternoon.

The tricky aspect to Saturday’s forecast will be temperatures. They will drop off behind the front, with Saturday morning lows bottoming out in the low 60s at the coast and mid to upper 50s inland (even a bit cooler in the Brazos Valley or up toward Huntsville). But it gets challenging on Saturday afternoon. If cloud cover and showers persist beyond midday and into mid-afternoon, we’ll likely see temperatures hold in the upper 50s to low 60s most of the day. However, if we see clearing and get a good bit of sunshine Saturday afternoon, look for temps to rebound to the upper 60s.

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Dust off the jackets Saturday, Houston

A lot to get to today, but the big headline this morning is that Saturday’s forecast has changed. You’ll want the jacket handy.

Today

As of now, we think that, while we will have scattered showers around today, the majority of the daytime should be under control in Houston and points south and west, as capping (which helps inhibit thunderstorm development) will likely be in place much of the day. So at this point, we aren’t expecting anything too serious during the daytime. However, as you go north and east of Houston, a few more organized, stronger storms may get going this afternoon.

Severe weather risk is pretty minimal in Houston, but with weaker capping northeast of Houston, chances of some healthier thunderstorms goes up as you move in that direction. (Storm Prediction Center)

For that reason, the Storm Prediction Center has placed counties north and northeast of Houston in “Slight” (or level 2) risk for severe weather. The most volatile ingredients for severe weather today will again be in far northeast Texas or northern Louisiana. But we can’t rule out a few strong to severe storms northeast of a line from about The Woodlands through Port Arthur. We’ll keep tabs on this today in case anything changes.

Tonight

The cold front, well to our north today, will advance south into our area overnight tonight, probably well after midnight. One difference with this front versus the last couple we’ve had come through overnight: Whereas the last couple fronts timed in the 10 PM to 2 AM window, this one will likely be later, say, 2 to 6 AM-ish. So, you may be woken up later in slumber by a rumble of thunder.

Between today’s showers and storms and tonight’s front, rain amounts may be a bit variable across the region.

Total rainfall today through Saturday shouldn’t be too impressive, though a few spots could see a little more than shown here, mainly northeast of Houston. (NWS WPC/Weather Bell)

On average, I think rain amounts will be a few tenths to half an inch in most places. Some of us may get a little more (perhaps 1-2″ or so with some thunderstorms today). Some places south and west of Houston may only see a small amount of rain. We don’t have any serious flooding concerns from this system.

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A calm and pleasant holiday weekend

We have registered many complaints from readers (and, frankly, ourselves) through much of 2018 regarding the timing of dreary weather on weekends. Well, here you go: A good one!

Today & Saturday

March will go out like a lamb, as today and tomorrow look truly splendid. Expect sunshine both days. We’ll warm today into the upper 70s, before cooling back on average into the upper 50s tonight (warmer at the coast and cooler inland). Look for us to top off around 80 degrees on Saturday.

Easter Sunday

No changes to our going forecast here. We should see onshore flow resume, which should allow for a subtle increase in humidity levels. But it will be partly to mostly sunny much of the day, with temperatures warming from the lower 60s into the lower 80s. Rain chances remain near zero. Enjoy it!

Next week

Monday should start the transition back toward active weather. We should see more clouds than sun and a minor chance of showers. It will be a muggy morning Monday (mid or upper 60s), warming back to around 80 degrees Monday afternoon. Details in the forecast seem to break down on Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ll probably get another round of showers and thunderstorms, though it should pale in comparison to what we saw on this past Wednesday night.

Total rainfall through next week is on the lower side at this point, but we’ll continue to watch for a chance of storms Tuesday and/or Wednesday. (Pivotal Weather)

Still, a bit more rain will be on the way. Tuesday night into Wednesday morning looks like the focus of things today, but that could change. We’ll freshen this forecast up on Monday when some of the details come into better focus.

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Tornado Watch for Houston through 9 PM Wednesday

Just want to give everyone a quick update this early afternoon.

The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch for most of the region through 9 PM tonight. This means that the environment over Houston is favorable for severe thunderstorms and possibly tornadoes.

Showers and thunderstorms are focused mostly north and west of Houston this afternoon. With some breaks in the clouds south and east of Houston, the atmosphere is becoming a bit more unstable. For that reason we expect a few more showers and thunderstorms to develop across the region. The environment over Houston is favorable for storms today to become strong or severe if they can get going.

A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for the development of severe storms and possible tornadoes. (NWS)

The main threats are isolated hail and damaging winds (we’ve already had some wind damage reported from a storm up near Lake Livingston earlier). Isolated tornadoes are possible, though we don’t expect things to get too out of control here today.

The rest of the forecast as described by Eric earlier is mostly on track. We’re still toying around with specifics on timing of the heavier rains (which should be tonight). Some of you may not see much rain at all during the day today. But others will see heavy rains at times. We don’t see any reason to change our thinking on flooding concerns: 1-3 inches of rain widespread, with pockets of 3-5″+ and street flooding in spots. Bayous and creeks still look to be able to handle this event fairly well, and we are not too concerned about issues with any of them right now.

Eric will have another update for you later this afternoon.