Matt Lanza

Hints of spring for Houston today, followed by a lovely weekend

Today may offer our area the first real taste of spring, via some warm temperatures and even a few thunderstorms. That will setup what should be a delightful weekend. Before we get into that, shameless plug: I was thrilled to be a guest on the latest episode of Weather Geeks, The Weather Channel podcast. You can check that out on your favorite podcast streaming service here.

I talk about Houston weather, the freeze, our string of high impact events, Space City Weather, and more! Definitely a career-so-far highlight for me, and I am grateful to have been given another platform to talk more about how recent serious weather has impacted the Houston area. I hope you find it interesting.

Today

As far as the weather, today intrigues my meteorological sensibilities a bit. I am genuinely curious to see how things unfold. Just to be very clear: We are not expecting any serious, high impact weather. This is pure meteorological curiosity on my part. Here’s why. A vigorous but weakening disturbance in the upper atmosphere moving along or just north of the Red River will help push weak low pressure at the surface and a cold front into Southeast Texas later today.

Water vapor satellite imagery show an upper level storm in Oklahoma that will help push a cold front and weak system at the surface into Texas today, bringing some showers and a slight chance for a thunderstorm. (College of DuPage)

As this happens, we’ll see some showers break out across the region this afternoon. It’s possible that many locations see no rain at all today, but the chance will be there. Some fog may be possible, patchy this morning and perhaps more robust along the coast later today before the front wipes it out this evening. We could also see a little sunshine today too which will allow temperatures to press into the 70s across much of the area. If we see enough sun later this afternoon, we could manage mid to upper-70s for highs today.

As the cold front approaches later today or this evening, some thunderstorms could possibly break out prior to it moving through. As these types of setups go, this will be a very low-end one with minimal coverage of thunderstorms and nothing unruly, but it may be the first day of the year where we notice some towering, billowing cumulus clouds, or springtime convection. Last year, I noticed it for the first time on March 10th, so it feels like we’re right about on schedule. The seasons are beginning to change once again.

The HRRR model is forecasting at least a handful of isolated thunderstorms very late this afternoon or evening, primarily north and east of Houston. Nothing serious but perhaps some conversational convection? (Weather Bell)

The best chance for any isolated thunder will likely be north and east of Houston, across Montgomery or Liberty Counties, or perhaps into Chambers County. Regardless, the front pushes out the warmer temps and rain showers in the evening, leading to a breezy, quiet night.

Weekend

It really looks like a spectacular weekend for the entire region. Expect sunshine most of the time, periodically punctuated by a few high clouds. We’ll have low humidity, and temperatures will top off in the upper-60s to near 70 degrees after morning lows in the 40s and 50s. Just perfect for outdoor activities…except for the pollen, which will likely be elevated. Be forewarned allergy sufferers!

Next week

We should start the week off on the right foot with more sunshine and highs in the 70s. As the week goes on, expect onshore flow to drag in humidity from the Gulf. This should mean more clouds, slight shower chances, and perhaps some gray skies and fog at times. Morning lows will gradually nudge up through the 60s, and daytime highs should top off in the 70s to eventually near 80 degrees, building through the week. We may see a cold front sweep through, perhaps by the weekend with higher rain chances and some cooler air. More on that next week!

Dreary for Houston the next few days, but warm

After the misery of last week, I think we can all agree that boring isn’t necessarily a bad thing, right? Well, the weather will be just that over the next few days, unless you find occasional fog, light showers, and warmer than normal temperatures exciting. And, hey, there’s nothing wrong with that if you do!

Today

Visibility is the main story this morning with a patchwork of mist and sea fog out there. Galveston is reporting a half-mile as of 5 A.M., while Ellington Field reports 10 miles of visibility and Katy/Brookshire reports 2 miles.

It’s a foggy morning on the Strand in Galveston. (Galveston.com)

Fog will probably persist near the coast for much of the day, though as is often the case with sea fog, it will likely wax and wane but never completely disappear.

There is a front draped across the northwest part of the area. It should grind to a halt over the Houston metro this morning before lifting back northwest tonight. A few showers will be possible around the area today, but as far as temperatures go, today is a bit challenging.

Temperatures as of 5:30 AM show a sharp dividing line northwest of Houston between 40s and 50s and 60s to near 70 degrees. This boundary will continue southeast and stall somewhere over Houston later this morning. (WeatherBell)

Temperatures behind the front will be a good 15 to 20 degrees cooler than temperatures ahead of the front. In the image above, you can see ample 50s and even some 40s this morning off to the north and west of the Houston area. Immediately ahead of the front it’s already close to 70 degrees. So depending on where that stalls today, it may mean the difference between shorts or hoodie weather. That dividing line will probably be close to US-59, but a 5 to 10 mile shift could mean a *big* difference in temperatures for a lot of people in Houston today.

Saturday & Sunday

As noted above, that front retreats to the north tonight, so for the most part, the weekend days look pretty similar for Houston: We’ll have more clouds than sun. We’ll have periods of dense fog, especially at the coast but possibly spreading inland at night and in the morning also. We could see a few showers or even a thunderstorm. The best odds for that will be north of I-10, where we could see a quarter-inch or so of rainfall through the weekend. Areas south of I-10 will see less. Morning lows should be in the 60s for most folks this weekend. High temperatures on both days will top off in the 70s in most places.

Monday

On Monday, a weak front moves back closer to our area, which should allow for some showers and storms to be scattered about. The front may be able to nudge past the area, which would allow for cooler, less humid weather to take hold for a bit, but that’s not etched in stone, and if you have plans on Monday you will want to check back with us then for info on any temperature changes or increased rain chances. For now, expect highs near 70 and temps perhaps dropping into the 60s and 50s by later in the day.

Rest of next week

We should see that front make a final push east of the area at some point Tuesday, followed by a stronger push of cooler, drier air Thursday. This will allow fog to dissipate and get us some nicer weather for a few days. No serious cold will follow, but temperatures will likely back into the 60s for highs and 40s for lows. More on this for you Monday.

The worst is behind Houston with one cold night left and 60s on the horizon

Good morning. We hope this finds you well today. If you are available to help out in the community, Crowdsource Rescue is looking for volunteers in the Houston area to deliver relief today to those that need some:

Here’s a quick roundup on some key issues:

Power: Nothing new that I have seen from ERCOT this morning, and CenterPoint is reporting all but 3,900 customers with power (as of 6:30 A.M.). We don’t expect a repeat of this week’s mess, but we’d encourage you to continue conserving power where you are able for another day.

Water: For the city of Houston, it sounds like a boil water notice will remain in effect through much of the weekend. There will be water distribution today for folks who are unable to boil. Many other communities are in similar situations right now, so please monitor your community’s social media feeds or websites for information on status and bottled water availability.

Roads: Only a handful of issues remain out there, but they do exist so please drive cautiously, especially the next few hours. Check Houston Transtar’s website for the latest road conditions.

On to the weather.

Today

We are beginning the day with a hard freeze across much of the region. Temperatures have bottomed out at 27° at both Bush and Hobby Airports, colder elsewhere.

A hard freeze is occurring this morning across the region, with temperatures in the 20s everywhere except the coast. (Weather Bell)

With the sun out in force today, look for temps to bounce back above freezing by 10 to 11 A.M., and our high temperature will likely push well into the 40s in much of the area.

Saturday

Tonight will be the last really cold night. Expect a light freeze in Houston and points south and east (though coastal and bayfront communities may just barely get below 40 for a brief time). Another hard freeze is possible north and west of Houston, though the hours spent that will be a little less tomorrow morning than they were today. Saturday should see ample sunshine again with a few more clouds by late day and highs well into the 50s to near 60 degrees.

Sunday & Monday

It will be downright balmy on Sunday morning, with low temperatures only in the upper 30s and low 40s, approaching 50 at the coast. We will have a good deal of cloud cover on Sunday, but that won’t stop temperatures from hitting the 60s!

Soak up every bit of Sunday’s high temperature forecast. (WeatherBell)

Now, a cold front will sweep through the region on Sunday night, but this will be of the kinder, gentler variety like we’ve seen most of winter here. No organized rain is expected, and we’ll see lows mainly in the upper-30s to low-40s and highs in the low-60s behind the front for Sunday night and Monday into Monday night.

Rest of next week

One thing we can say with some confidence is that it looks fairly warm next week. There’s a good chance we’ll see a day or two in the 70s, as well as milder nighttimes. There should be another modest cold front flirting with us on Thursday and Friday, but the details around that are a bit uncertain. But we would expect some rain with that system. More on Monday!

Hard freeze on the way tonight, as Houston nears the end of the cold wave

Good evening, everyone. We just want to freshen up the situation a bit for you this evening. Thank you to Eric for holding down the fort as I wrangled power, water, work, and children like so many of our readers the last couple days. I hope this finds you powered.

CenterPoint is still reporting about 15,000 customers without power. This means 99.5% of the Houston area should have power back now. Just over 350,000 customers are still without power across Texas, which is down from 620,000 this morning. Many of those are due to issues stemming from ice in recent days. Per ERCOT, we’re still in a tenuous situation, but it sounds a like things are much more stable than they have been.

So it goes. We encourage you to continue to conserve power so the overall situation continues to improve.

The water situation is still a bit difficult. A boil water notice continues in Houston and many other places.

The city of Houston is directing bottled water distribution through city council member offices, so we’d encourage you to reach out your representative’s office if you need access. As for other communities, please check their websites, social media feeds, etc. Various news media in the city have also put together lists for this.

If you or someone you know need something more urgently or can provide support to those that may have those needs, please utilize the Crowdsource Rescue website. This organization has been working tirelessly and doing great things.

I’d encourage our readers to drop any advice or information about other organizations doing important work through the freeze in the comments section.

On to the weather.

Tonight & tomorrow

It was nice to see the sun in much of the area today, and temperatures did push 40 degrees. Meanwhile, Del Rio saw 10 inches of snow. It’s been a weird, weird week, y’all.

Clear skies and diminishing winds will allow for another night of cold, cold temperatures.

Nighttime lows will be in the 20s for most areas away from the coast. (Weather Bell)

Nighttime lows will be in the 30s for Galveston, around 30 or upper-20s in the Bay Area and Chambers County, mid to upper 20s for the south side of Houston and Brazoria County, mid-20s north of Houston and Fort Bend County, and low-20s, with pockets of upper-teens possible in Montgomery County, Liberty County, and points north. Generally, the farther north and west you go, the colder it will be. Thus, a Hard Freeze Warning is in effect tonight for most of the region. Continue to keep pipes and plants fully protected, and make sure to check on people and bring pets inside.

The good news is that temperatures will recover quickly tomorrow. All areas should be back above freezing by late morning with full sunshine. Look for highs tomorrow to top out in the mid-40s in most places except the far northwest.

There will likely be another freeze tomorrow night, but temperatures will probably be about 3 to 6 degrees warmer than tonight. The finish line is in sight. I’ll have the latest on the rest of the forecast tomorrow morning, and I can almost promise to bore you to tears, which is exactly what I think we’re looking for right now.