I’m hopeful Houston will have one partly sunny day this week

As brutal as it sounds, Houston may have just one partly sunny day during the next seven days—with the rest of our weather being mostly cloudy. But if that’s got you feeling blue (unlike the sky), just remember that for all of December, the city of Moscow saw only six minutes of sunshine. So as ever, it could be worse.

Tuesday

In a word, gloomy. The day will start chilly, in the low- to mid-40s for most of Houston. With widespread clouds holding on, we should see highs only in the mid-50s on Tuesday, and as moisture levels start to rise later today, we should also see some light to moderate rain showers—but accumulations shouldn’t be an issue. Low temperatures on Tuesday night will basically remain flat from the day’s highs, as warmer air moves into the region.

Wednesday

The warmer air will do its work and, despite mostly cloudy skies, we can expect high temperatures to climb into at least the low 70s on Wednesday.

Some slight, scattered rain showers are possible, but by no means certain. Lows Wednesday night should only fall into the mid-60s. If you’re planning some kind of outdoor activity for Valentine’s evening, I think the weather should mostly cooperate.

Thursday

Global models indicate the likelihood of some clearing skies on Thursday, and I think we can expect to see at least a partly sunny day. If you’ve hated the gray, cold winter this year, put a circle around this day. At some point during the afternoon, especially if we get a few hours of partly to mostly sunny skies, highs probably will rise to 80 degrees.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Alas, the forecast for this weekend remains a mess. We can be reasonably confident that Friday will be a warm day, with highs roughly in the mid-70s under partly to mostly cloudy skies. Some rain scattered rain is also possible. But after that? Who knows. A cold front will approach the area later on Friday and it may move through the area—or it may not, stalling out or significantly weakening as it reaches the coast.

The net effect of this is that high temperatures on Saturday could range anywhere from the lower 50s to the upper 70s, and northern parts of the region might be cold, with the coast substantially warmer. Sunday, too, will have the same questions depending on the movement of the front. Unfortunately one thing we can be fairly confident in is that skies should remain mostly cloudy this weekend, with at least the possibility of rain both days.