No, Houston. Winter is not over just yet.

Good morning. Temperatures have fallen into the upper 30s this morning for parts of the metro area, and still colder conditions are on the way for Friday and Saturday night, with a light freeze in the cards for inland parts of Houston. In addition, the global models are indicating that another blast of colder air will work its way into the region in a little more than a week. It is too early to say whether this will ultimately bring a freeze into the region during the February 18-20 period, but it’s enough for me to say that winter is not over yet for our corner of Texas.

Also, read to the end of today’s post for an opportunity to join me in watching one of my favorite films later this month. Now, on to the forecast.

Thursday

Today is going to be a great day for weather, one of the best of the year so far. We’ll have sunny skies, dry air, and high temperatures in the upper 60s to 70 degrees. To go along with this, we’ll see very light winds, turning southerly. In other words, conditions will be mild during the daytime. Temperatures will cool off tonight, with lows in the upper 40s.

Friday

Over night a reinforcing front is going to blow into the area, and I do mean blow. We’re not going to see any precipitation with this front, but some time before sunrise the winds are going start blowing pretty precipitously. By Friday morning we should see sustained winds of about 20 mph, gusting to 30 mph or higher. These winds will persist throughout much of the day, and with highs only in the 50s it’s going to be chilly outside. Although the winds will moderate slightly after sunset, it’s still going to be gusty outside. Paradoxically, while this mixing may keep air temperatures a bit warmer—I think most of Houston will remain a few degrees above freezing—it will make wind-chill temperatures feel much colder, in the 20s by Saturday morning. Plan accordingly if you’ll be outside.

Saturday

The first half of the weekend will be sunny and chilly, with highs in the 50s. As winds die down overnight, they’ll lead to ideal cooling conditions, such that it now looks like Saturday night be the coldest of the week, with a light freeze possible for inland areas of the region.

Sunday

The second half of the weekend should be partly to mostly sunny, with highs in the low 60s. As the flow turns more southerly, lows on Sunday night should drop only into the upper 40s or so.

Next week

As high pressure exits, this more southerly flow will lead to the development of clouds and eventually some rain showers on Monday and Tuesday of next week. The better chances for rain, and possibly thunderstorms, should come on Tuesday. Most of next week looks reasonably warm, with highs in the 70s before a stronger front arrives by Thursday or so. This will drop lows into the 40s, at least, and possibly further depending on the extent of the cold air as outlined in this post’s introduction.

Movies Houstonians Love

A few months ago the Museum of Fine Arts asked me to name my favorite movies, as part of their Movies Houstonians Love series. As a result of this, I’ll be attending a special screening of Dazed and Confused on Saturday, February 25, at the museum’s Brown Auditorium. I can’t wait to hear the film’s fantastic 70s soundtrack blasting from the theater’s sound system. You’re invited to join me, and come say hello. Here is information on tickets, which are moderately priced.