Matt Lanza

Yesterday ended up being an absolutely spectacular day for most of the area, except perhaps southwest of Galveston, which hung on to clouds. We maxed out at 71° officially at Bush Airport, making Monday our coolest day since February 18th! Today will be even cooler, as we battle some cloud cover. And we’re still watching a pretty good chance of some very cool air this weekend.

Today

For Houston proper, today looks like a decent day. About 20,000 feet up today, a weak disturbance is going to cross the northern half of Texas, rotating around the base of a trough that’s helping supply a major snowstorm for the interior Northeast.

That disturbance won’t do much more than give us a few extra clouds and slightly cooler temperatures today, especially north of Houston. Based on morning satellite imagery, I’m not super impressed by the cloud cover this morning, so the day should start decent at the least. Highs will peak in the lower half of the 60s north of Houston and the upper half of the 60s south of Houston. We could do 70 or so from about Sugar Land south and west or anywhere that avoids clouds. The best chance for a shower or some sprinkles would be along or north of Highway 105, but we are probably talking meager stuff overall.

Bring a light JKT if you’re checking out MGK tonight at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Mid-60s or so walking in and near 60 as you head home. No weather woes again.

Wednesday

Between our current weather and the stronger onshore flow ahead of our next front, we get Wednesday, which looks just sublime. Chamber of commerce type weather, with sunshine, morning lows in the 50s and upper-40s (near 60 at the coast), then just mild and pleasant with low to mid-70s and Goldilocks humidity levels…not too dry, not too humid. Enjoy!

Thursday & Friday

On Thursday, you’ll notice the onshore flow increasing. Humidity will be going up, there will be more clouds, and we’ll likely see temperatures quite mild in the morning (60s), warming into the 70s to near 80° again on Thursday afternoon. A few showers or a thunderstorm are possible on Thursday, especially to the north and west of Houston.

The primary cold front that will be impacting us comes through Friday morning. Ahead of it, expect showers and thunderstorms to be likely. While locally heavy rain and locally strong storms are possible, we aren’t expecting any serious or widespread severe weather at this time. It could get a bit noisy late Thursday night and Friday morning though. We’ll continue to keep an eye on this in case things change.

The big question on Friday is how much clearing we see. I think we’ll remain cloudy into early afternoon right now, but then possibly filter in some sunshine from northwest to southeast before day’s end. Friday’s high temperature will probably occur around or just after midnight, near 70 degrees, falling into the mid-50s by morning. Maybe we can warm to near 60 degrees Friday afternoon, but that would be quite optimistic.

One thing you’ll also notice Thursday and Friday? The wind. Gusts of 25 to 35 mph are likely across the area, with stronger winds possible over the water.

Weekend

Perhaps this will be our final real winter-like weekend of the season. Temperatures should bottom out in the 40s on Saturday morning, with some 30s possible north and west. We do not expect freezing temperatures, however. During the day, however, it will feel very un-March like. Our average high this time of year is up to the mid-70s. We may struggle to get into the mid-50s on Saturday with a lot of clouds and maybe a few pockets of light rain or drizzle.

Sunday will only be marginally warmer with morning lows again in the 40s mostly, daytime highs in the 50s, and a mix of clouds and sun. Another system is pegged for Monday before we warm up a good bit next week. More on all that tomorrow and Thursday.

Happy Monday, y’all! We tacked on two more 80 degree days over the weekend, bringing our 2023 total to 18, tying us with 1974, 2000, and 2017 for the second most to start a year. The pace of this early spring warmth is really going to begin to slow down, however. You may have felt the change a bit yesterday afternoon once the cooler air behind the front settled in, along with the breeze. You’ll be feeling more of that in the future.

Today

All is calm behind yesterday’s front. Temperatures cooled off late yesterday, and this morning, we’re running about 15 to 20 degrees cooler than 24 hours ago.

Today will be a mixed day with clouds and sun, with probably more of clouds than sun this morning and hopefully more sun than clouds this afternoon. A shower is possible in the Matagorda Bay area. The breeze that kicked up on Sunday afternoon will relent some today, easing up to about 10 to 15 mph or so a bit later, though maybe still a bit gusty over the water. With enough sun, we should manage 70 or so in most of the area, though places north of The Woodlands, west of Katy, and up in the Brazos Valley may generally stay in the 60s.

It’s Cody Jinks debut night tonight at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Depending on your personal preference, you may need a light jacket. You’ll get quiet weather at least. Temperatures will be in the upper 60s on your way in and low 60s on your way out. Keep the fair weather coming please.

Tuesday

Look for a mix of clouds and some sun tomorrow. As the Northeast gets walloped with what I think is their biggest winter storm of the season, we’ll get clipped by a weak disturbance. I wouldn’t say that showers are likely tomorrow, as the air mass overhead is still pretty dry in the wake of yesterday’s front. Just don’t be shocked to see some raindrops. But I wouldn’t alter outdoor plans. Temperatures will probably struggle a bit, with morning lows in the 50s and daytime highs mainly in the 60s, perhaps 70 or so southwest of Houston.

Wednesday

No trouble here. Wednesday will be arguably the nicest day of the week, with plenty of sun expected, morning lows in the 50s, and highs in the low-70s, along with comfy humidity.

End of the week

If you have not solidified your plans for the week and want to play the weather for outdoors-y activities, keep a close eye on Thursday and Friday. While most of Thursday may end up being fine, there’s still a decent chance at some showers or thunderstorms by late in the day, especially north and west of Houston. Friday looks even dicier with a period of showers and storms likely as a pretty strong cold front pushes in.

Some of the storms late Thursday and Friday could be on the stronger side, but the highest odds of severe weather and heavier rainfall are north of our area. Still, we’ll watch this through the week to see how it evolves.

Temperatures will surge on Thursday, perhaps approaching 80 degrees again before Friday’s front cuts things down heading into the weekend. As advertised, it does appear we are heading into a period of much cooler weather for the weekend into early next week. In fact, high temperatures on Saturday may not even reach 60 degrees!

We will probably warm up again into mid or late next week, but the amplitude and duration of that warming will probably be somewhat less intense than we’ve had so far this early spring.

Good morning. Today’s pollen update: Uggghhhh.

Houston is off to one of its warmest starts to a year since records began here back in the late 1800s. In terms of 80 degree days, if you think we’ve had a few more than usual, you’d be correct. We average four of them through March 10th. We’ve already had 17, and today has at least a chance to make it 18, which would be tied for the second most since 1888. 1911 had 22 80 degree days at this point, and 2000 also had 18 of them. Either way, we’re off to the races this year.

We will probably pause things a bit after next week.

We should see one front on Sunday or Monday that knocks us back temporarily, followed up with a second front on Friday or so next week that will have a bit more “oomph” to it, allowing for this cooler weather beyond St. Patrick’s Day. Again, the fast, early start to spring this year doesn’t necessarily mean much of anything heading into April, May, or summer.

Today

The challenge today? Temperatures. With a cool front nudging into the Houston area today, we can expect a bit of a difference from north to south. If you’re driving from Conroe to NASA later today, you may experience a season and a half’s worth of weather.

A passing shower or downpour will be possible this morning, with a mixed but probably dry afternoon; decreasing clouds overall. Temperatures will likely range from near 80 degrees in Houston and south of I-10 to the 70s on the north side of Houston to the 60s or near 70 degrees farther north of Montgomery County and up toward College Station.

Saturday

Let’s call tomorrow a mix of sun and clouds with temperatures back in the low to mid-80s in most of the area with the exception of the very far north and immediate coast. Morning lows should range from the upper-50s well north and west of Greater Houston to the upper 60s at the coast. Outdoor plans look good to go, but watch for some wind gusts of 20 to 25 mph at times.

Sunday

We have seen a couple changes for Sunday’s forecast today. Namely, the timing of the front, which looks about 6 hours or so faster than it did yesterday. That will have an impact on temperatures Sunday, with an earlier front perhaps taking a little of the edge off Sunday’s highs. The early morning will be in the 70s and humid. Depending on the exact timing of the front, we may cool off further after sunrise (which will be an hour later by the way…change those clocks Saturday night!) and then warm into the low-80s. If the front does arrive more slowly, we could do mid or even upper-80s. Either way, the humidity will trend lower and more comfortable through the day. We’ll continue with some gusty winds, but they’ll flip around and be out of the north instead of onshore like Saturday.

It’s always a big weekend at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and this weekend you’ve got pretty good weather to go with it. Whether you’re seeing The Chainsmokers, Turnpike Troubadours, or La Fiera De Ojinaga you shouldn’t have too much trouble at all.

Friday evening: Mid-70s walking in, 70 or so walking out. Fair.

Saturday: Low or mid-80s walking in, mid-70s walking out. Breezy and quite humid!

Sunday: Low-80s walking in, mid to upper 60s walking out. Less humid and still a bit breezy.

Early next week

Depending on your perspective, we’ve got some decent weather to start next week. We will manage clouds and sun Monday and hopefully more sun than clouds on Tuesday. Look for highs around 70 and morning lows in the 50s, if not 40s in some spots.

Late next week

The process of a warm up will begin on Wednesday and peak on Thursday. We have a shot at another 80 degree day by then. But then on Friday it appears one of the stronger cold fronts we’ve seen in a few weeks will push through with showers and scattered thunderstorms. That should knock temperatures back into the 60s for highs next weekend, with lows in the 40s. Spring breakers, y’all get a little bit of everything!

Bye La Niña

Yesterday, NOAA officially declared the end of our multi-year La Niña event. As a refresher: La Niña is a periodic cooling of the ocean water in the Equatorial Pacific. When that water turns warmer than usual, we call that El Niño and dress up as the late, great Chris Farley if you’re a student of the 90s. All of this is part of something called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Usually events last a year, maybe two. This La Niña was a triple dipper, lasting for three winters.

That has likely contributed to the long-term drought that’s been battering Texas reservoir levels, groundwater, and agriculture the last couple years. Typically, La Niñas produce drier than normal weather across the Southern Plains.

So what does this change mean for Houston going forward? Nothing yet. This was not unexpected. We’re now in what we call an “ENSO neutral” phase, which is neither La Niña or El Niño. These events are not like a switch that flips and produces instant change. What the change could mean is that we gradually see more rainfall in Texas in the months ahead. Whether that’s in April, June, next fall, who knows? Usually, hurricane seasons are somewhat muted during El Niño summers, as stronger westerly winds increase wind shear in the Caribbean and Atlantic basin. But while El Niño is a possibility a few months down the road, it is not a guarantee. And besides that, not all ENSO events behave similarly. For example, La Niña events usually produce above average rain and snow in the Pacific Northwest and below average rain and snow in California. This year, California is on pace to end up with one of their most exceptional wet seasons in recorded history, and the Pacific Northwest has seen average or below average precipitation. So, while we have a couple theories of what may happen, we will have to watch the evolution of the Pacific waters to get a sense of where we may actually be going in the coming months.

Short on time this morning? No worries. It’s a simple two word forecast the next 3 days: Nice weather.

For those of you that crave details, our analysis, and levity, read on.

Today through Sunday

Well, it certainly has changed a bit since yesterday morning! The map below shows 24 hour temperature changes as of 6:30 this morning, and much of the area is about 20 degrees cooler than Thursday morning.

It’s still breezy outside as well, with 20 mph wind gusts in most places, around 30 mph at the coast, and as high as 40 mph offshore. We will get most of the wind out of the system this morning, and this afternoon looks tranquil and mild with highs in the low-70s.

Both weekend days look great. The edge probably goes to Saturday in terms of comfort. Sunday should see humidity inch up a bit later in the day. We’ll have ample sunshine with lows in the 40s and 50s and highs in the mid to upper 70s.

Big weekend at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo! We’ve got Bun B’s Southern Takeover tonight, and the weather looks trilling. Temps should be in the upper-60s on the way in and low-60s on the way out. Maybe worth a light jacket for some of you. For Walker Hayes on Saturday, it’s going to be fancy like, with temps in the 70s mostly and perhaps the upper-60s when you’re heading out. Sunday you get the indomitable Zac Brown Band, and you’ll be in the same boat weather-wise with near 80 or so in the afternoon and lower 70s for the evening.

Overall, whatever your plans this weekend, they look great. Unless of course you have pollen allergies, in which case I am sorry. Oak pollen remains through the roof, and there will likely be minimal relief from that for quite some time.

Early next week

As noted above, we do get some humidity back on Sunday. That will transition to a full-fledged face-full of humidity on Monday. Both Monday and Tuesday will feature a mix of clouds and sun with shower chances higher on Monday than Tuesday. We’ll probably top off in the mid-80s, just a touch shy of record highs. Morning lows will be in the 60s to near 70 degrees. Patchy fog is possible, especially at night and in the early morning for coastal areas.

Later next week

Models cannot quite pin down exactly how next week’s front looks. We know a couple things. It’s going to be a strong front in terms of temperatures, ushering in some very chilly air for early March. As Eric noted yesterday, the chances of an actual freeze are quite low at this time, but we’ll continue watching. 40s for lows seem likely at this point by next Friday or Saturday, and 30s are becoming a definite possibility.

Either way, it would appear that the weather is going to change drastically next weekend behind a front that arrives Thursday or Friday. We’ll sort that timing out and get back to you with more on Monday.