Heat peaks the next two days before a (very) slight reprieve later this weekend

In brief: Houston will face some of its hottest weather today and Saturday before a weak front makes its last gasp over the area. We cannot rule out a few thunderstorms on Saturday evening, and then some showers on Sunday, but for the most part our weather this weekend and next week is going to be hot and sunny.

Friday

High pressure will be dominant today and for much of Saturday, leading to some of our hottest conditions so far this summer. Friday, therefore, will likely a little bit warmer than we’ve experienced that last couple of days even. Most of the Houston region, away from the coast, is likely to see highs pushing into the upper-90s. Winds will be light, from the south at only 5 mph. With dewpoints in the mid- to upper-70s, the air will feel sticky. Low temperatures tonight will only fall to around 80 degrees for much of the city. So yeah, this will be full-on summer in Houston.

Houston’s temperatures will reach borderline extreme levels before backing off slightly, based on Wet Bulb Globe Temperatures. (Weather Bell)

Saturday

The first half of the weekend is likely to be even a touch warmer than Friday. This will be due, in part, to the advancement of a weak front that will eventually fizzle out over the Houston area. What happens as a front advances is that, typically, it compresses the air ahead of it downstream. The front is fairly weak, but this compressional heating could be enough to add a couple of degrees on Saturday. Therefore I expect most of the region to reach the upper 90s, with a few locations possibly hitting 100 degrees. Skies will be sunny during the daytime. I do think it’s possible that we see some isolated or scattered showers on Saturday evening, with the possibility of thunderstorms. So while these aren’t probable, they are possible.

Sunday

The front should bring a few degrees off the top end of our temperatures, so highs on Sunday will likely drop back into the mid- to upper-90s. There is also a decent chance of showers on Sunday and Sunday evening. By decent I mean maybe 30 percent for areas along and south of Interstate 10, and 20 percent further inland. Mostly, however, our skies will be sunny and the air plenty humid still—sorry, it’s a very weak front that will fall apart as it pushes into the region. Lows on Sunday night will drop into the upper 70s.

Next week

Most of next week looks sunny and hot, with high temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s. There will be a smattering of rain chances, but they’re low overall, perhaps 10 to 20 percent daily. Mostly, it’s just going to feel like Houston in August. For most of us, that’s pretty miserable. But aside from the heat we should have no worries about storms or the like, which is nice after what Houston has experienced so far this spring and summer.

Our model guidance for Invest 97L is becoming much clearer. (NCAR)

Tropics

The forecast for the tropical disturbance AL97 is coming into better focus, and it looks to be a rainmaker for Florida and potentially the US East Coast this weekend and into early next week. As we’ve been saying for a few days, there is zero threat to Texas from this system. We’ll continue to track the storm in depth today, and this weekend, on The Eyewall.

31 thoughts on “Heat peaks the next two days before a (very) slight reprieve later this weekend”

  1. Model guidance? The same models that put Beryl into the Rio Grande? Sorry. Just not trusting the things as much anymore.

  2. Let’s be honest: Between the horrible and worsening heat and humidity and the constant of catastrophic storms, Houston has become borderline uninhabitable.

      • What are you talking about, exactly? Houston is in a better place than most other cities. As for the weather, it’s perhaps more subjective but I think I would like most other cities no better.

    • I’m starting to feel the same way…
      I saw a gfs run today about an hour ago..It has a hurricane coming in south of Houston, between us and Corpus Christi on Aug the 13th…This is going to be a long 2nd half of the summer…These past 4 weeks have been challenging to make plans for a swim days with my grand daughter at times she’s available..What with the prolonged power outages, places being closed, and the long rain spell that came in after Beryl…And after next week, the city pools won’t be open week days , so making plans for an afternoon of sun and water will be even more challenging..July has been pretty miserable for this outdoors beach / pool girl..

      • Aug 13th is nearly two weeks away… I wouldn’t put much stock in anything >120hrs out.

        If it makes you feel any better, the AI models don’t show anything like the GFS in their recent runs.

    • To me, this has so far been a very normal Houston summer.

      Warm, but not oppressive. I have been in Houston for 66 years and have seen much much warmer summers.

      I did a lot of outside work today. Washed a car and washed house windows plus some other chores.

      Of course, I come from a time when no one in Texas had air conditioning so I think we have it much easier now than in the 1950s.

  3. Have to agree with Blackhawks Fan. Models have been sporadic and just not as reliable, but was it ever? I will say that the uptick in global temps has gave us a more erratic behavior in ANY system that meanders it’s way here. From small storm cells to the TS. Is this applicable to the “always has been” meme?

    • Overall, I think the models – especially European – have been amazingly close for a good many years. Seemed like they never were off. Until Beryl. The “knuckleball” of tropical systems. Mother Nature still with a few tricks up her sleeve!

      • “Seemed like they never were off. Until Beryl.” Nope @Bill Martin.

        ICON was spot on. Showed Beryl days before, to head straight up the Houston area.

  4. Just a few days ago channel 13 was claiming that it would be mostly in the low to mid 90s over the next 10 days. They even said that it would be fairly pleasant for August standards. Yeah I knew that wouldn’t last. The week of cooler rainy weather was nice but the reality of modern day summers are quickly returning.

    • Maybe I’ve been burnt out by the last two years, but anything below 100F in August feels like a win to me.

  5. Stop with the whining. It gets hot in Houston during the summer. We have an occasional hurricane. Some people were without power for up to 6 weeks after Hurricane Alicia in 1983. Back then it was family and neighbors helping each other. Today it’s just cry cry cry.

    • I was here in the 80s..Been living in Houston 40 years..In my opinion, the model tracking for storms was a bit more reliable, up until the last 6 -7 years or so..This summer has been the worst…The computer models aren’t working well to give us good info until a storm is right on top of us..For those who want to flee hurricane conditions , they either have to scramble last minute to leave when lodging is less available or spend lots of money to leave several days ahead of time..

      • Yes, these systems are causing enormous worry, effort and expense, whether they land on us or not. There’s disruption to almost everything.

        I have to plan much further ahead and the models now seem like the Fates coming in to complicate things, throwing their eyeball around and cackling.

    • This is an interesting take. Personally, I don’t think it’s not too much to ask to see improvements over 41 years. Houston should have the best power grid in the world. Instead we rival Puerto Rico.

      • Exactly…Not all of us can afford home generators…And for those who can, the city is going to hassle us during installation, if we don’t dot all of our i’s and cross our t’s in having all the needed permits..
        I for one, was so grateful when my power switched back on, that I immediately hosted three of my elderly friends (without power) to come over and stay as long as they wanted to charge things and cool off..
        Another set of friends of mine, a married couple, who live in the next town over, had their power restored within 5-6 hours of Beryl’s exit..The husband checked up on me every day..During the first day of our outage, he said he was going to offer to host us at his house that afternoon if our power didn’t come back on…His wife must have shut him down, because the offer never materialized…And I wasn’t going to beg…
        During disasters you learn which of your friends and family is helpful and who is not..

      • That’s part of the problem. We have utopian expectations of progress that won’t ever be fulfilled. Yes, we can certainly demand that the grid be at least maintained properly. But no Houston does not have to have the “best power grid in the world” in order to be a good home.

    • Asshats whining about complaining are more annoying than the complaining itself. You don’t need to make an attention getting post to show us what a big, strong, tough person you are back when you walked barefoot in the snow without shoes to get to school.

      • Lol, I used to walk about a mile in the deep snow back and forth from school, when I lived in Chicago, this was 50-60 years ago…The best most playful fun times ever..

      • I agree 100%. and regarding what Mark said, people complained about the weather every day back in the 80s as well as every other decade before. Humans have always complained about the weather. Also, neighbors and families still help each other out today just as much as back then at least from what my lying eyes have seen. This notion that nobody ever complained about weather hardships in the past is just plain ridiculous.

    • Yes, because I’m sure not one person was complaining about the situation they were going through back then with Hurricane Alicia. Give me a break. This is a site for people to talk to and bond with each other about the weather. If you know anything about humans, we like to complain about the weather when it is inconvenient. It helps to spark good conversations. It also helps get it off of our chests. Last time I checked, neither Matt or Eric has ever said that nobody is allowed to complain about the weather. It doesn’t violate any TOS that I know of. Nobody is going to sing Kumbaya with fake smiles when their house is destroyed by a falling tree or when it’s 99 degrees outside every day and they haven’t had power for a week. If you can’t handle people complaining about the weather especially when the complaints are justifiable, then clearly you need to look for another site. Good luck finding any other weather forum where it is nothing but happy sunshine and roses all the time.

  6. Personally, I’ll take this over growing up in Pittsburgh winters. Walking up and down those hills in the cold, wet snow was not fun and it lasted from as early as October through at least March. It even snowed on my birthday in May when I was little.

    • Looking for something between Ohio winters and Texas summers. Like the mid-South. In a city 1/10th the size of Houston with half the crime.

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