Summary: We’ll see mostly cloudy skies today with a chance of storms. The risk is higher north of Houston, so please take that into account if you’re chasing the total solar eclipse. Tuesday should be stormy in Houston ahead of a front on Wednesday morning. After that we’re sunny and cooler for a few days.
A bummer of an eclipse, with some storms
A total solar eclipse is the most spectacular astronomical event that most people will experience in their lifetime, and today offered a golden opportunity for people living in Texas. Unfortunately, much of the state will be socked in by clouds, from South Texas through Central Texas along the path of totality. It is possible that some areas of north Texas, particularly north of Interstate 20, will see a break in the clouds during the early afternoon hours to view totality. But even that is no certain thing.
On top of this there is the potential for severe weather this afternoon and evening in central and northern Texas. This is likely to occur after the eclipse. However, if you’re traveling back to Houston late this afternoon or evening it is possible you will experience some severe weather. The primary threat today is hail, but some tornadoes are also possible. Again, this severe weather is less likely to occur in Houston, but if you’re traveling north of the metro area please be weather aware this afternoon, evening, and tonight.
Monday
Houston’s air has plenty of moisture today, and with a disturbed atmosphere overhead we’re going to see some scattered showers and thunderstorms. Skies will be mostly cloudy, so your chances of seeing a partial eclipse here are not great.
In Houston the Moon begins to move in front of the Sun at 12:19 pm, and will reach its maximum coverage at 1:40 pm CT. At that time, in the city, 94 percent of the Sun will be covered by the Moon. The event will end at 3:01 pm. Despite the mostly overcast skies, we may seen enough breaks in the clouds to briefly view the partial eclipse. You must wear eclipse glasses when looking directly at the Sun.
Scattered showers will be most likely in central and southern Houston this morning before lifting north, with the potential for stronger storms in Montgomery County and points north this afternoon and evening. Highs, otherwise, will be near 80 degrees in Houston today with humid air and, at times, gusty southerly winds. Rain chances should be lower tonight before resuming early Tuesday morning.
Tuesday
At this point it appears as though the chance of severe weather in the Houston metro area will be greater on Tuesday, perhaps with an initial round of pre-dawn storms moving in from the southwest, and another system later in the day or overnight. The potential for severe weather will be greatest for areas north of Interstate 10, but all of the area will be at risk for damaging winds, hail, and possibly a tornado. This threat will likely extend into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Aside from the potential for thunderstorms, this will be another warm and muggy day, with mostly cloudy skies and highs around 80 degrees. Winds will again be breezy from the southeast. Lows on Tuesday night will likely only drop to around 70 degrees.
Wednesday
Finally, on Wednesday, a decently strong front will surge into the area. I’m not super confident in the details, but this is likely to result in a final line of showers and thunderstorms early on Wednesday, followed by northwesterly winds and much drier air. Skies are likely to begin clearing during the late morning or early afternoon hours on Wednesday. Highs will again reach 80 degrees, but with lower humidity. Lows on Wednesday night should drop into the upper 50s.
Thursday and Friday
These look like a pair of fine, sunny days with highs in the upper 70s to 80 degrees, and ample dry air. Lows will drop into the upper 50s to about 60 degrees. It’s a damn shame we cannot delay the solar eclipse a few days.
Saturday, Sunday, and beyond
The weekend will be a little warmer, and a little more humid, with a fair amount of sunshine and highs in the low 80s. At this point I don’t see much of a signal for rain. Next week looks warmer and muggy, with highs in the mid-80s, or possibly even upper-80s. It’s a sign that, in the not too distant future, we’ll transition from spring into summer.
So is there still time to hop on a Learjet to Nova Scotia with Warren Beatty? Is Carly coming too?
Easy drive into work this morning despite some rain.
Dumbest thing announced on Channel 13 this morning : “Don’t drive wearing eclipse glasses.” Seriously? we have to tell people that? If so, America’s finished. We better start learning Mandarin.
A teacher friend said his school did not want to encourage students to look at the eclipse during school hours because some dumb kid would take the eclipse glasses off, damage their eyes, and the school would be sued by the parents. There are a lot of dumb people around!
Well, we had a, let’s say “high ranking”, official in the U.S. government that looked straight into an eclipse with no safeguards. So…
Just for grins I looked at the 500 MB height forecast. It does look like the dreadful, sustained high pressure ridge off the Plateau rolls in for at least the rest of April. Per models. Seems that the rain which ends Wednesday is the last for us. Plan your outdoor water needs. We’ll see.
It’s not great, that’s for sure. Really hoping these rains hit between now and Wednesday morning.
Will there be SCW Flood Alerts this week?
Good morning Eric. What are your projections for the eclipse in Waco TX?
The take on this seems to be maybe a glimpse of the eclipse and maybe a chance of rain further north from Houston; all in all, somewhat of a downer of a day – no eclipse and no rain.
Its been known for days that the weather would be cloudy for an eclipse in Houston, its fine if you watch it online.. don’t feel down stranger
Watch the eclipse on-line at the NASA website 🙂
Safety department just sent an email not to look at the eclipse without proper eye protection. Anybody dumb enough to do that I don’t want working in a chemical plant.
We’re just NW of Austin and it’s surprisingly clear – 50% cloud cover. Just gotta hang in there for a couple more hours.
Feeling pretty down. We booked an Airbnb near San Antonio ages ago… we have young kids so I just can’t risk being out on the road to get to a better viewing site. Will keep them inside during the eclipse and will just have to do with a disappointing experience.
At 13:20 I just watched the partial eclipse in west Houston, the sun kept showing itself before shyly hiding again and then reappearing.
The clouds totally parted here in the DFW area where I am, about half an hour before the totality. Saw the whole thing with no clouds anywhere near! IT WAS SO COOL. And we had spent the whole hours ahead of time looking at the cloud forecast despairing, but it really totally cleared up.
Correction: that should have read 13:42
PS Matt, Eric, etal. Please add an editing feature.
We got lucky where I live. In Brazoria County the clouds broke up enough that you could see it pretty well with the proper tented glasses.
For about 20-30 seconds somewhere between 1:40 and 1:45 there was a thin spot in the clouds. Was able to catch the skinny sliver (with the glasses on and not driving, Lol)
Same here. A group of us at work outside the main building. I got about 10 seconds of near peak.