Matt Lanza

See lightning over Houston in an incredible new way

Back in November, meteorologists were euphoric as a satellite named GOES-R (now GOES-16) was launched into orbit. “GOES” stands for “Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite.” For meteorologists, it represents the future of weather observation from space. The satellite is now sending back imagery and data in an experimental, non-operational capacity. GOES-16 will be declared operational and unleashed for use in forecasting and observations later this year.

There’s a lot to love in GOES-16. We’ll have higher resolution imagery from a satellite than we’ve ever had in North America. In fact, at times, the satellite will be capable of sending back pictures every 30 seconds. By comparison, that’s more frequent than what a land-based Doppler radar typically scans. It will have 16 bands of imagery compared to five bands on the current GOES fleet. These satellites will give us more to look at, more to study, and more high quality data that will be ingested in weather models to help with short and medium range forecasts. It will also have the ability to see lightning.

Geostationary Lightning Mapper

The geostationary lightning mapper, or GLM, attached to GOES-16 can detect changes in a scene that indicate there’s lightning present. It’s the first such operational lightning mapper in orbit. The GLM will give us a capability to see and study lightning in a brand new way. It will also allow us to build up a historical database of lightning across much of the Western Hemisphere, including the tropics and deep oceans, where we lack a lot of good observational data. Best of all, it will allow for some really cool visualizations of storms.

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Mixed reviews for Houston’s weekend weather

Good morning, and happy Go Texan Day, y’all! Today looks great, but this weekend should get mixed reviews, as we’ll be dealing with some rain chances dampening things a bit. On to the details.

Today & Saturday morning

Today will be a fine day. We are starting off a bit chilly this morning, with a lot of 40s on the board north and west of Houston.

Another cool start this morning, with plenty of 40s and low 50s in the area. (NOAA/NWS)

 

It looks mostly sunny and dry this morning and afternoon. We’ll have some high clouds skirting through from time to time, but overall it looks to be a nice day. Temperatures should get up to near 70 degrees with a modest breeze.

It should be a quiet evening, though it won’t be quite as cool as this morning or Thursday morning. Temperatures should start Saturday about five to ten degrees warmer than those days. Clouds will begin to increase tonight as well, leading to a mostly cloudy, but likely quiet Saturday morning. It *should* be good weather for the Downtown Rodeo Parade or the Rodeo Run. We can’t entirely rule out a sprinkle or some light rain, but steadier rain should hold off until after Noon.

Saturday’s rain *should* hold off until after the Rodeo Run and Downtown Parade.

 

You’ll still want to keep tabs on the forecast before you head out in the morning, just to be safe.

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A mostly nice weekend for Houston

After a nice, albeit warm day on Thursday, we’ll see a near-repeat today. This before a cold front gives us even nicer weather tomorrow.

Today & Saturday

No record highs were set on Thursday, though Houston did eclipse 80° for the 19th time this winter, extending our record. We should be able to make it an even 20 days today. Officially, highs should peak in the low to mid 80s after some morning clouds give way to sunshine.

Speaking of clouds, be on the lookout this morning (especially southeast of Houston), as there could be some neat wavy or rolling type low clouds. What appears to be an “undular bore” or “gravity wave” is coming through Houston this morning.

An undular bore or gravity wave was seen coming through Houston on radar this morning, as indicated by the “wavy” nature of wind velocities. (GR Level 3)

It’s not a rare event, but it’s cool when you can catch it.

You may not really notice it, but a cold front is going to plow through the region later today. The wind will shift to an offshore direction and humidity will plummet.

Dewpoints and humidity will plummet today as the cold front moves through the region. (Weather Bell)

 

This will lead to a crisp, cool night tonight with lows in 40s in most places (near 50 in the city). It also means Saturday will be epic. Highs will hit the upper 60s to near 70°, and we’ll have oodles of sunshine and low humidity. Bottle it up and save it.

(Space City Weather is sponsored this month by Darrell Lee’s The Gravitational Leap)

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Houston weather on cruise control

Houston’s weather is on cruise control right now, and this delightful stretch of weather is still on track to continue into the weekend. The forecast in a moment, but first some housekeeping.

Records Fall

Yesterday saw Houston hit 83°, making it our 18th day with temperatures at or above 80° this “winter,” officially a new record. The old record was 17 days set in the winters of 1995-96, 1956-57, and 1910-11. We should be able to notch at least two, possibly three more 80 degree days before February and our definition of winter ends.

Another, more intriguing item I’ve been tracking has been Galveston and their affinity for record high temperatures this winter. In fact, Galveston has tied or set new record highs on 31 days since November 1st of this past year. It’s not as if Galveston is new to recording weather data either. Records there go all the way back to 1874, which is a really solid set of data for a location. Houston has only set 12 new record highs in that same span of time, though that is also pretty impressive.

Galveston’s record highs from November through February, with records set or tied this winter highlighted. (National Weather Service)

 

Now, I’m not sure what the odds are of breaking 31 new records in less than four months, but they have to be slim. The primary factor? Likely the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf is considered to be at a record warm level this winter.

But, out of an abundance of caution, I reached out to the National Weather Service office in League City to see if they had any concerns about thermometer calibration or recent land-use changes at Scholes Field in Galveston, where the temperature is recorded. They don’t believe there are any siting or thermometer issues, as the days that Galveston has broken records have occurred when, meteorologically, it made sense (temperatures start the day just warm enough to allow Galveston to capitalize on warmer than usual air masses in the afternoon). It’s just been that sort of “winter,” and it’s led to an incredible piling up of record high temperatures along the Texas Gulf coast.

(Space City Weather is sponsored this month by Darrell Lee’s The Gravitational Leap)

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