Matt Lanza

Holiday weekend heat for Houston

Happy July! One month of summer is in the books, and as the calendar turns over, the heat will begin to crank up. Yesterday didn’t feel especially awful around Houston, as humidity was fairly low for this time of year. Dewpoints in the low 70s are tolerable. At least you don’t feel like you’re walking into a wall when you step outside. As we go through the holiday weekend, that will probably change.

TODAY & TOMORROW

I expect similar weather today and tomorrow to what we saw on Thursday. Rain chances look low both days, with a morning shower or storm possible near the coast and a couple hit or miss afternoon downpours possible inland. Rain chances never really go beyond 10% or so.

The biggest change will be overnight lows and humidity. While low temps have been generally in the low to mid 70s this week, we’ll see them transition to the mid or upper 70s by Saturday night/Sunday AM. With that, humidity will also increase. Dewpoints in the low 70s will transition to the mid 70s over the weekend, making the low to mid 90s each afternoon feel progressively more unpleasant.

Forecast high temperatures today look near typical for July: Hot. (Weather Bell)
Forecast high temperatures today look near typical for July: Hot. (Weather Bell)

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The summer doldrums continue

Happy Friday, Houston! Summer may have taken a little time to kick off this year, but we’re definitely locked in the doldrums now, with what you would expect this time of year. Let’s jump into it.

TODAY

Looking at weather maps this morning, we see a pretty rich area of precipitable water (PWAT) approaching the Coastal Bend to our south. In English, that means there’s going to be gradually increasing amounts of moisture available for thunderstorms to pop up this afternoon.

Deeper moisture increasing along the Texas coast as of early this morning. (NOAA/SPC)
Deeper moisture increasing along the Texas coast as of early this morning. (NOAA/SPC)

So while it has been mostly quiet the last couple days, I expect we’ll see just a few more pop-up storms this afternoon (perhaps this morning along the coast). The best chance for greater coverage of afternoon hit/miss storms will be west of I-45 and south of I-10. The further north and east you go, the slightly drier the air mass stays today, so that should keep pop-up storms to a minimum. High temperatures will remain hot, into the low 90s, with heat indices into the low 100s.

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Can Houston do back to back 90 degree days?

At last, our long regional nightmare is over: Houston popped the cork on 90 degree days in 2016 on Thursday. Now we’re clear to rack up dozens of them.

2016 will go down in history as having the 3rd latest first 90 degree day in Houston, just being edged out by June 12, 1970, and June 15, 1897. Like age, 90° is really just a state of mind around here. It still feels like summer. We will ease into this new reality where 90 degree temperatures can officially occur in Houston as modest rain chances flirt with us through the weekend.

TODAY

I suspect today will be somewhat similar to yesterday, with a scattering of showers or storms around in the afternoon (perhaps a downpour near the coast this morning). Temperatures will top off close to 90 degrees again, though we may fall a bit short. Storm risk today may not be quite as concentrated as we saw south and west of Houston yesterday, where over 2″ of rain fell in a few spots in Wharton, Matagorda, and Colorado Counties. But a few small clusters of showers or storms will be possible.

HRRR model shows just a few downpours or thunderstorms in the region today. (Weather Bell)
HRRR model shows just a few downpours or thunderstorms in the region today. (Weather Bell)

And just be aware that occasionally this time of year, you could see a brief funnel cloud or (along the bays/Gulf) a waterspout form. Likely nothing serious, but don’t be shocked if you see or hear reports of that occurring.

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Another stormy day around Houston

After a stormy Thursday, though certainly one that could have been worse for Houston, I’m hopeful for a more optimistic situation today (though not one where rain chances magically disappear unfortunately). A Flash Flood Watch remains posted into Saturday evening, so we’ve got another day and change to stay on guard. Let’s break it down.

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