Dry and mostly sunny through Saturday—gray thereafter

Houston’s weather will offer something for most people over the next week or so. Through Saturday, we’re going to see partly to mostly sunny weather, with gradually warming weather as temperatures climb through the upper 70s to perhaps 80 by Saturday. For early next week we’re going to abruptly transition back to the cold, gray, and possibly wet conditions more common during winter.

Wednesday

After this morning’s cold start, highs today will get into the mid- to upper-60s for what should be a banner day under full sunshine. As winds begin to return from the south tonight, overnight lows will only fall into the lower 50s for most of the region.

Thursday and Friday

The overall pattern will remain mild through the end of the week, as the movement of air in the mid-levels of the atmosphere moves generally from west to east, keeping our region dry. The net result of this should be partly to mostly sunny skies, with highs in the 70s, and nighttime temperatures in the upper 50s to lower 60s. 

Saturday

This should be a warm and partly sunny day. High temperatures will depend on just how much sun reaches the ground, but I expect most of Houston to probably reach around 80 degrees. Rain chances should remain near zero, so this should be a good day for most outdoor activities.

Sunday

A cold front finally drags into Houston sometime on Sunday, probably by or before noon. (At this point the front’s passage looks mostly dry, but no guarantees for now). Temperatures will probably hang on to the 70s before the sun goes down, after which point we’ll see a downward slope.

Next week

In the wake of the front we’re going to see clouds lingering, a lot of them, and this will set up a cold and gray period, with intermittent light rain. I’m no longer concerned about a possible freeze, but we’re certainly looking at several days in the 50s, with lows in the 40s. I know there are a lot of activities for that next weekend, such as Mardi Gras in Galveston and the Rodeo Cook-off, but it’s too early to say how much of a warm-up there will be, or if the sunshine will come back to us.