As we get closer to the Houston Marathon the forecast remains close to what I’ve been describing for most of the last week.
A cold front remains on track to reach Houston on Friday or early Saturday, and we’ll continue to see cold air moving into Houston through Sunday. This will lead to cold conditions on the morning of the marathon, and I’m expecting a low temperature that morning most likely between 35 and 40 degrees. It certainly won’t be above 45 degrees. During the course of the morning temperatures will rise into the low 50s.
After the front moves through forecast models are suggesting that an upper-level disturbance will cross over Houston later on Saturday and Saturday night, and this could bring some rain during the evening hours. However at this time I feel pretty confident in predicting that any showers will be gone by Sunday morning.
As for wind, in the wake of the front, my best guess is that they will be moderate, probably less than 10 mph.
At this point my confidence in this forecast is high, with the only main uncertainties being how cold it will be on Sunday morning, and a slight concern that rain showers may linger into the race. But I do not believe that will happen. It seems very likely we will have nearly ideal conditions for the marathon.
For those running the 5K on Saturday morning, it will be a little warmer — mid-40s maybe — and I would not worry about rain showers during the morning hours.
Posted at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday
Eric,
Thanks. When the rain stops, will the clouds be carried off or will they remain until noon? Some cloud cover would be nice.
Impossible to say. My guess is partial clearing.
Are you ready? I could be better ready, but oh well…. Thanks so much for giving us this daily update. I get so geeked out the week before – this has given me something to focus on and I have a “little less” anxiety about what I will wear (a major preoccupation). I have a long list of tips for first-timers, but I’ll just give one (maybe I already told you this): if you have any fans coming out to cheer try to know exactly where they will be standing. YOU can almost always find them, but they will have a very difficult time finding you.