Houston warming up some, but a weak front will make for a pleasant weekend

Good morning. Houston’s weather will be fairly bland through next Wednesday or so, with a weak cool front providing a splash of drier air this weekend. Then, later next week, a stronger front will potentially bring some much-needed rainfall and a fair amount of cooler air. In between we’ll see warm days.

Tuesday

High pressure is in control of our weather right now, but because it is October and not August conditions will not be sweltering outside. Rather most of the region can expect to see highs in the upper 80s today with partly to mostly sunny skies. Winds will be light, out of the northeast. Due to these rather calm atmospheric conditions, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has issued an Ozone Action Day for the Houston, Galveston, and Brazoria area for today. This means ozone levels could be unhealthy for sensitive groups. Lows tonight should drop into the mid-60s for the city, with slightly cooler conditions inland, and slightly warmer near the coast.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday

These will be three fairly warm days, with highs around 90 degrees and mostly sunny skies. Look for lows generally in the upper 60s. Rain chances, like for the rest of this week, will be near zero. As dewpoints start to creep up toward 70 degrees it is going to feel humid outside. It won’t be full-on summer humidity, but it will be more humid than the last week or so.

Saturday and Sunday

A weak front arrives in time for the weekend. This won’t bring any rainfall, probably, but it should knock some of the humidity out of the air. Look for mostly sunny skies on Saturday, with highs in the upper 80s, and similarly sunny weather for Sunday, with highs in the mid-80s. The jury is still out on lows, but I think much of the area probably will get into the low 60s.

Next week

I think most of next week will probably see highs bounce back into the upper 80s, with plenty of sunshine. Things start to get interesting by Thursday or Friday, when the global models are suggesting that a stronger front may push into the region. There are some hopeful signs that this one could bring rainfall. This is still nine or ten days out, so take the forecast with a grain of salt—or maybe two. But I’m choosing to be hopeful.