The summer of 2020, which featured the 5th warmest July and 8th warmest August on record, threw two tropical cyclones at Houston, and offered unsparing humidity, died on Monday. It was 123 days old. Summer finally lost its fight with fall’s first truly strong front, which blew into Houston on the morning of September 28th. Services have been canceled due to a lack of mourners.
I realize that some people do like Houston summers, and that’s fine. But for the majority of us in Houston, there is nothing sweeter than the arrival of fall’s first real front. And my friends, that day is today. As of 6:45 am, the front has passed a line from The Woodlands to Katy, and it should be off the coast before noon.
Monday
A thin, broken line of showers is accompanying this morning’s front, and clouds may linger for a few hours after its passage. After this we should see clearing skies, and a northerly breeze gusting to perhaps 20 or 25 mph. This will bring much drier air into the region. On Sunday evening, when I went for a walk, it was sticky—the dewpoint was 77 degrees. This evening, the dewpoint will be 25 or 30 degrees lower. The difference will be unreal. High temperatures today will probably crest at about 80 degrees and begin falling this evening. Low temperatures outside of Houston will likely drop into the 50s, reach about 60 in the city, and be a few degrees warmer right along the coast.
Tuesday and Wednesday
Hello, fall! Look for sunny skies, highs of around 80 degrees, and lows down around 60 degrees give or take. (Wednesday morning will probably be the coolest morning of the week for most locations). Oh, and there will be plenty of dry air.
Thursday
This day could be warmer, pushing into the mid- or upper-80s as the onshore flow returns.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Right now the weekend looks quite nice, with a secondary push of dry air arriving on Friday or so. Our details about this part of the forecast are a bit sketchy, but generally we’d expect lots of sunshine this weekend, with highs of around 80 degrees, the low 80s, or maybe a bit warmer by Sunday. The bottom line, look for pleasant, sunny weather to prevail.
Tropics
The National Hurricane Center has begun monitoring a low pressure area over the northwest Caribbean Sea. Over the next week or 10 days this may eventually develop into a tropical storm, but we have no reason to think it would eventually track toward Texas.
Glad to throw Summer 2020 onto the trash pile. Can’t wait to throw the rest of 2020 in after it.
Enjoying coffee on the back porch as the front comes in. Feels great!
Ya don’t LIKE the virus, all that accompanies it, political nastiness, hurricanes, wildfires in California? What a killjoy. (sarcasm)
I miss summers heat and humidity the way a felon misses prison bars.
So, what about all those folks that voted September as being worse than August? What do they do now? Thanks for keeping it real, Eric and Matt. My Halloween decorations are out!
This is a long comment. I guess August, 2019 was the fourth warmest August. I guess July, 2019 was sixth warmest July. It seemed like last Summer was warmer in my neighborhood in 2019 than 2020. Also 2020 did not seem too too hot. It seems that my neighborhood is a degree or two cooler than Bush Airport per the Weather Channel website.
Maybe the Gulf Freeway and 610 interchange construction from 2016-2018? elevated the temperatures in the neighborhood making 2019 and 2020 cooler or seem cooler.
For a couple days maybe a week after Laura pass, there was oppressive humidity and around September 1st, I felt I needed to stop for several shade breaks during a walk. That has never happened to me during a walk, jog or run before.
I would agree, this summer has been hot and humid, but, to me, just the normal heat of Houston summers, it didn’t seem exceptionally hot.
I feel like the daytime highs weren’t exceptionally hot for here (110ish) but the overnight lows were awful never dropping below 80 for days at a time.
I think that’s the sneaky way our summers are getting hotter. The daytime highs aren’t really that different from before, it’s the overnight lows that are more and more frequency not dropping below the upper 70’s.
It doesn’t seem like the cool front has reached Deer Park yet, it’s still hot and muggy. I’m dying out here!
Strong north winds, lower humidities and cooler temperatures in September? It’s been a long time since we have seen a front this strong this early.
I sort of remember cooler Septembers year ago. It seems that September has been getting warmer every passing year. So glad to finally see a September cool front! Thanks guys for being real with the weather!
North winds always bring in “alien” pollen. It’s killin’ me Smalls! Lovin’ the temperature–would like to send the pollen back where it belongs.
Right there with you on the pollen. It’s apparently the junk that blows in from the northern hinterlands that kill my sinuses. And, of course, this is not exactly a time when sneezes and coughs are thought of benignly either.
The summer of 2011. #neverforget
Had a good laugh at Eric’s phrase, “…some people do like Houston summers, and this is fine.” I call those people “masochists”.
Without modern A/C, this city wouldn’t be the fourth-largest in the US. And, I’ve lived here all my life. Ha ha ha!
But, back on positive thinking: hooray for the cool front! This time of the year is simply the best.
We will be in Cancun in 10 days … That disturbance is making me nervous- we got stuck in Hurricane Michael two years ago.
Yaaaaaaaay
Shame no one got your Monty Python reference.
I did…. but didn’t read this until just now.
Once again, thank you, thank you!!!!
What refreshing news!!!
I like houston summers in June and am okay with houston summers in July but by August I’m over them.
With your opening paragraph I could sense an expression of relief…the SCW team deserves a big pat on the back and time to feel this quite enjoyable change!
Hip…hip… HOORAYYY!
And now for something completely different…a season in Texas that DOESN’T require one to change shirts every 15 minutes.
Our summers serve a worthy purpose. If every day was like today, there would be 25 million people here.
Hooray, hooray, hooray. The temperature was and is absolutely lovely. I’m about to go out with the dog so she can do her business and I can marvel at the cooler air.
Thank God, even if it only for a short break. I absolutely will take it.
And, yes, anyone who actually “enjoys” a Houston summer is a masochist indeed.