The rain is over. After days of being tortured by Mother Nature (and, you know, tigers), we can at least turn the faucet off for a bit, as drier weather builds into Southeast Texas for the weekend.
TODAY
As the upper level storm partially responsible for repeated rains finally begins to pick up some speed as it exits the Mid-Continent, that will allow for high pressure to settle in over our region for a couple days. That means we should have a good bit of sunshine today. Temperatures will pop into the low to mid 80s.
No complaints about today’s rainfall forecast for Southeast Texas. (Weather Bell)
Will Southeast Texas finally catch a few rain-free days? It looks that way, but we still have today to get through: One more round of rain and storms, but then we’ll see a couple days off.
TODAY & FLOOD UPDATE
The radar this morning looks somewhat similar to the way it did 24 hours ago at this time: A cluster of thunderstorms was dropping south toward Austin and College Station and in our general direction.
Radar loop shows rain and storms dropping southeast across Texas this morning. (College of DuPage)
As the morning goes on, these will move toward us. I suspect based on models and extrapolating this radar that they’ll arrive around mid to late morning again, perhaps a hair faster than yesterday.
The good news is that similar to yesterday, the rain should continue moving, so it won’t rain for too long over the area. That said, any rain at all will cause minor street flooding in spots and exacerbate some ongoing flooding north and west of Houston. But the bayous, etc. can handle this.
Any lingering showers will end this afternoon, and that should be it for organized rain for a couple days.
A quiet morning should transition into another quiet day for Houston, but rumblings remain on the horizon, though unfortunately clarity has not increased much more today.
TODAY
No big issues are anticipated for Friday, with highs in the low 80s and a mix of sun and clouds after any morning low overcast or fog dissipates.
SATURDAY
The first phase in the transition to a more active, unsettled weather pattern unfolds tomorrow. Onshore winds off the Gulf will help pool atmospheric moisture over us. Dewpoints should jump into the upper 60s Saturday, with high temperatures in the upper 70s. It will feel a bit more humid. While a shower or very isolated storm can’t be ruled out, most of us should see quiet weather.
SUNDAY THROUGH MIDWEEK
Not much change today in the forecast for this period. We continue to see an upper level storm system approach us from the west, tapping into rich Gulf moisture (available moisture will be near record levels in this period). These sorts of events are difficult to communicate effectively sometimes, so I’ll try and answer some questions.
When will the rain fall?There will likely be a few periods of thunderstorms or showers between Sunday afternoon and Wednesday. It will not rain the entire time though. Right now, the period from Sunday afternoon into Tuesday stands the best chance for storms of the next 6-7 though.
How much rain will we see? You’re going to see a lot of rainfall maps (including the official NWS one below) over the next few days.
National Weather Service rainfall forecast through next Thursday (as of Friday AM). (Weather Bell)
Some maps may show big numbers (particularly anyone showing the GFS model, which has been handing out double digit rain amounts southwest of Houston). It’s impossible for sure to say how much rain we see in this sort of situation, but we can use the weather models as guides. So if the models are painting regularly bullseyes of 10″+ of rain, we know potential is there for some significant totals. That said, the places actually seeing that much rain are likely to be isolated and small (10″ rain totals would be the exception rather than the rule). But I can’t tell you today whether it’s Baytown, Bay City, or Brenham that sees these big numbers. As of now, the trends imply that the best risk for this is south and west of Houston and probably south and west of the suburbs. That said, we won’t have high confidence as to where those places will be until about 24-36 hours before the storms hit. Eric’s call yesterday of an average of 2-5″ is about as good as we can do right now, knowing that some places will see quite a bit more. We’ll pin down exactly who that will be Sunday or next week.
Will there be severe weather? As of right now, the Storm Prediction Center has areas west of Houston in a “slight” risk for Sunday, but hasn’t highlighted anyone for Monday and Tuesday as of yet.
Severe weather outlook for Sunday (NOAA, Storm Prediction Center)
From experience, these sorts of setups have four primary severe weather concerns. In order: Flooding, wind, lightning, hail. I think the focus should be on the rain and potential for localized flooding, but we will be watching for damaging winds in stronger storms, definitely a lot of lightning, and even some risk for a few hailers too. You always should have your guard up in spring, but I think the main headline in all this will ultimately be heavy rain and flooding potential.
When does this clear?I don’t think rain chances will leave the forecast much at all next week, but after Tuesday, weather models continue to imply quieter weather (so lower significant rain chances).
Advice: Keep tuned it over the weekend for updates on next week. Follow Eric or myself on Twitter too. We’ll hopefully be able to pin a few more details down by Sunday and certainly Monday morning. If you have plans early next week, don’t cancel, but run through some alternatives, and make sure to stay tuned to the forecast.
MS 150 RIDERS
Unfortunately no change in the MS150 forecast. Saturday should be good, with a solid tailwind. But Sunday will turn progressively stormy between La Grange and Austin, especially in the afternoon. Heavy rain is a good bet, and lightning is very possible. Officials are slated to update the status of the event by 10 A.M. this morning.
Our lengthy stretch of stellar, stunning, <insert your favorite adjective here> weather will gradually wind down over the next couple days, as we return to more humid weather and some rain chances next week.
TODAY
We’re starting off today pleasant again. Temperatures are generally in the mid 50s region-wide, though a few spots in the city are around 60°, particularly south and east of Downtown. High clouds will continue to stream across the region today.
Satellite image this morning shows high clouds streaming across Texas. (College of DuPage)
As long as clouds aren’t too thick, we should manage around 80° or lower 80s again. Otherwise, we will be a couple degrees cooler. No issues though, with continued low humidity.
WEEKEND
After another relatively pleasant morning, Saturday should be similar to Friday, with sun and high clouds. Temperatures will again be contingent on how thick the cloud cover is, but we’ll likely be a few degrees cooler than Friday regardless; say upper 70s for now. I can’t fully rule out a shower tomorrow afternoon, but the odds would be very low. The best chance would be north and west of town.
Saturday afternoon dewpoints in the 50s means another day of comfortable, low humidity. (Weather Bell)
On Sunday, onshore flow will have been established pretty persistently. This will bring warm, moist air off the Gulf, and the humidity will edge upwards. There will likely be some clouds around, mixed with sun. A chance of showers exists, but it is a low chance. Temperatures will press back to near 80 degrees.
NEXT WEEK
Monday will carry a low chance of showers, along with clouds and sun and temperatures again around 80°. If you’re attending the Astros home opener, I’d probably lean 60/40 on the roof being closed right now. Hopefully we get it open for a few games next week though.
Forecast confidence plunges Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I expect showers and storms to become more numerous, but the key to unlocking rain chances is trying to time upper level storm systems that we just can’t do 4+ days out (I’ve seen the heaviest rain shift 12 hours and 100 miles around Texas between weather model runs the last couple days). But I think there’s a good chance some heavy rain will return to the forecast for parts of the area midweek next week (though not every single day). Behind that, we should briefly return to nice spring weather and low humidity for late week. These “nice” windows of weather are going to get shorter and shorter as our typical summer pattern develops. Enjoy it while you still can.
MS-150
As Eric told you yesterday, mild temperatures are expected right now. No changes there or on the idea of a tail wind being dominant. However, the bigger issue may be rain. Some models indicate thunderstorms next Sunday between Houston and Austin. This is very much a “let’s wait and see” forecast right now. All options are still on the table, so stay tuned!
