Houston still seeking that first 90° day

Houston has yet to hit 90° in 2016, and the city hasn’t gone all the way through May without such a temperature since 1970. But first we’ve got to get through today and that will be no easy thing.

TODAY

We’ll continue to see moist and humid surface conditions today, but with moderate high pressure in place we shouldn’t see too many showers develop as a result—perhaps just a few scattered storms with daytime heating. Depending on how much sunshine we see temperatures are going to rise into the upper 80s to possibly 90°. Houston’s first 90° day typically comes at the end of April.

THURSDAY

As an upper level storm system moves into Texas it’s likely to bring heavy rain across the central part of the state, including from San Antonio north through Dallas. Light rain is possible in Houston beginning Thursday morning, but the heavy rain will probably remain west and north of the metro area.

FRIDAY

As the upper-level system moves directly over Houston on Friday things could get a little more interesting. It still looks like the storm pattern will be more active over the northern part of the metro area, say from Montgomery County on north. Whereas central Houston might see 1 inch of rain, or less, these northern areas might get 2 to 3 inches, or more, along with some severe weather. Additionally the entire area is at risk for a “slight” chance of severe weather according to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center.

The bottom line is that we’ll have to watch the forecast for Friday closely as there is the potential for some unpleasant weather in the form of locally heavy rain, damaging winds and possibly hail throughout Houston.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

Although the upper-level system is going to move off later on Friday, Houston will remain in a humid, almost summer-like pattern. This means we can count on highs in the upper 80s, along with at least a slight chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms with daytime heating. Still, I’m hopeful there will be enough sunshine around not to disrupt beachgoing and outdoor gatherings to too great an extent.

Posted at 7:25am CT Wednesday by Eric Berger