In brief: Hot weather will persist with increasing humidity this weekend. Shower chances remain low but even those will increase a tinge as we go through the weekend and into next week. Our next front may (or may not) pass through late next week or weekend. We also assess where we stand with drought in the area today.
If you’re like me and absolutely loathe this period between August and true autumn, it actually has not been a terrible stretch of weather. Yes, it’s hot, but the humidity levels have been quite tolerable each day, and it has not felt totally miserable. The humidity levels are now expected to increase, albeit slowly ahead of our next front, which may or may not arrive by late next week.
Today through Monday
Shower chances will slowly increase through the weekend. These are going to be isolated showers, nothing widespread and probably nothing you need to really plan around. You may just get rained on for a few minutes, particularly near the coast this weekend but possibly farther inland by Monday.
It will be hot, so if you’re attending any outside events this weekend, such as the Southern Smoke Festival just make sure to stay hydrated. Highs will be near 90 with lows in the 70s.
Tuesday through Thursday
We could see temperatures increase a degree or two here, but otherwise, it looks like status quo from this weekend. Just hot, humid, and a minor chance of passing showers each afternoon.
Later next week
We still see at least some model support for a cool front, maybe more like a humidity front later next week or weekend. Eric gave it about 30 to 50 percent odds yesterday, and I think that stands pat today right around there. We’ll continue to watch.
Drought?
We’ve had a dry week. We’ve had little to no rain, and despite shower chances peppering the forecast going into next week, it does not look like most areas will see significant rain at all. So are we heading toward a drought? The answer is maybe. We saw some degradation in conditions with yesterday’s report, but the vast majority of our region still remains outside of drought.
The only areas in technical drought are just west of the Brazos River. Most of the Houston area remains normal or just abnormally dry. If dry weather persists, we’ll probably see this expand in the coming weeks or months. But with drought, it’s a long game usually. We’ll see.
