Hi everyone. Just a quick weekend post here to call attention to the extreme heat our region will see today, Sunday, and possibly Monday. Yes, we know it gets hot in Houston during the summer. But temperatures this weekend, particularly on Sunday, will reach 105 degrees or higher for some inland locations as we see peak high pressure. This is rare and dangerous heat that warrants precautions.
To that end, the National Weather Service has issued an “excessive heat warning” for far inland areas, including College Station, for Saturday. The rest of the metro area, including the city of Houston, falls under a “heat advisory” criteria. This warning area for excessive heat could be expanded further southward on Sunday, as we warm further. The last time the city of Houston, itself, fell under an Excessive Heat Warning was August 31, 2020.
This will be the hottest weather that Houston has seen this year, and raises the threat of heat related illnesses. Outdoor activities should be limited during the middle of the day, and you need to stay well hydrated.
The heat should peak on Sunday, but Monday still has a pretty good shot at hitting 100 degrees for much of the metro area. After this we should revert to a more summer-like pattern, with high temperatures starting to drop back toward the mid-90s and chances for at least some scattered rain showers. Until then, please take things easy outdoors.
A Message From Our Sponsor, Reliant
Our thanks to Eric and Matt for keeping Texans informed during another hot Texas summer. With the high temperatures in the days ahead, Reliant wants to ensure everyone has the latest information to manage their energy usage and stay cool. Below are helpful tips you can apply, regardless of your electricity provider:
- Follow the 4×4 principle. Set your thermostat four degrees higher when you’re away from home for more than four hours to save on energy usage and costs.
- Rotate your ceiling fan counterclockwise for a wind chill effect. This can make the temperature in a room feel up to 4 degrees cooler allowing you to be more comfortable and adjust your thermostat to save money. Don’t forget to turn off your fan when leaving the room.
- Use blinds or curtains to reduce solar heat gain by up to 50 percent. Direct sunlight can increase the demand on your AC by as much as 30 percent.
- Beat the Heat Centers are located across Houston to provide a safe place for seniors and other vulnerable neighbors to cool off, allowing them to decrease their energy usage at home. To see a full list visit reliant.com/beattheheat.
Ceiling fans: “rotate counterclockwise”… Does that mean as one is looking up at it?
That means the fan is pushing air toward the ceiling… where the hot air lives, & distributing the hot air down the walls. I do that for Winter!
Mine are set clockwise, pushing air down towards the floor & where people’s skin is. That’s Summer!
Am I wrong? Done it for 40 years.
(I cool a 100-year-old, 1260 sf West End bungalow with (2) 24,000 BTU Friedrich window units. My electric bill was $191 for June. July will be more, but I lucked out last year with a 36-mo. contract at 10.6 cents per KWh.)
I wouldn’t have Central if you paid me!
Elizabeth
Have a look at https://www.hansenwholesale.com/ceiling-fans/fan-direction-summer-winter which says you may be correct based on layout of room.
During the summer, you want the maximum wind chill effect, so the main column of air that rushes straight down from the fan is what you will feel the most. However, if your fan is not directly over the area where you want to feel coolest, say your room is rather large with a fan in the middle and your couch closer to an outer wall, you might find yourself more comfortable if you run the fan at a high speed in the wrong direction because the wind chill effect will be more prominent further away from the fan closer to the walls.
Recommend performing a Google search on that topic. From what you write, it sounds as if there’s a better way in store for you.
You have it right but you just remembered which way the fan spins backwards. When the fan spins counterclockwise when looking up at it, it’s pushing air straight down at you. When it spins clockwise, it’s pushing air up at the ceiling. You do that during winter
You guys are the coolest – thanks for the update.
I do not remember heat like this in 2020.
I do, we moved into our new house that summer (July 2020). It was brutal in August/September. We didn’t have anything set up in our backyard yet for our kids so they rarely went outside until mid-late October when it finally cooled down.
A lot of outdoor things were not even open that summer because of COVID, so I don’t think we really had a chance to realize how hot it was at the end of summer since we were all home social distancing still.
“Rotate your ceiling fan counterclockwise” And reverse when you use your furnace.
where is the rain??? only downtown houston got some a few days ago, the rest of the area has seen NONE, what is going on?
the weather apps keep saying it will rain and have been saying that for the past two months and I have gotten not ONE drop in West Houston, can you explain why?
I want to add my appreciation for the weekend update, which is unusual but also indicates the dire heat conditions.
You know it is too hot when you seek out shaded spots in a shopping parking lot – even though they are a good bit farther to the door just to knock off a few degrees inside your car when you get back. I’d skip it altogether but weekends are the main chore time and there’s only so many chores one can get done at dawn.
I agree with Aidan. I live in Waller and a couple months ago we got a tiny shower for about 6 or 7 minutes. Not even enough to wet the whole yard. When can we expect more than that? All the pastures out here are 🔥 hazards.