The excessive heat warning is back for most inland counties in the Houston area, including Houston-proper, with high temperatures expected firmly above 100 degrees. Yesterday was 101 at both Bush and Hobby, but yesterday was also notable in that the 83 degree low temperature at IAH matched our warmest low of 2023 and ties with 10 other dates for the second warmest low temperature on record there.

Additionally, Eric noted that yesterday would be a bit breezier, and it was. I was out on the east side of the region for work, and I have to tell you, those onshore winds were ripping. Hopefully that provided a little relief in spots. With high pressure sitting over us, and a stalled out front across the Red River, we actually are ending up in a situation that’s a little reminiscent of springtime, albeit with August temperatures. Low pressure formed over northwest Texas, and the gradient (or difference in pressure) between that low pressure and surface high pressure off to our south and east has led to windier conditions than we’ve seen in some time.

For Bush Airport, yesterday was the windiest day (based on average wind speed) since May 12th!

Factor in winds and drought and dry air during the afternoons, and we continue to have a high risk of wildfires across a large chunk of Texas, including the Houston area. We’ve seen some sudden and erratic fire behavior at times from new starts in central Texas as well as in Louisiana. Today’s fire outlook from the Texas A&M Forest Service continues to show high or very high risk of wildfires in the northern half of the Houston metro area. Please use extreme caution across the entire area. The last time it was this windy in the area, the soil had a good deal of moisture. Things have really dried out since.

As far as the weather goes, it remains a pretty easy forecast.

Today and Friday

Sunny, hot, and breezy with highs in the low-100s and lows in the low-80s.

Saturday and Sunday

Sunny, hot, and breezy at times, with highs in the low-100s and lows in the low-80s.

Monday and Tuesday

Sunny and hot, with highs in the low-100s and lows near 80 degrees.

There is nothing in our models right now that makes us optimistic for a change in our pattern over the next 7 to 10 days. The good news is that one day it will change. We just can’t tell you what day right now.

In all seriousness, please take it easy and check on vulnerable friends and family. And once again, please use caution with respect to fire danger. Wildfire risk has not been to this level of seriousness in these parts of Texas since 2011.

I’m going to be real up front. The Houston-area forecast calls for more of the same very hot and sunny weather, with a lack of rain, through the middle of August. So at this point of the summer we’re grasping at straws. The one hopeful bit of news I can offer is that, on Tuesday, the Greater Houston region passed through the climatological midpoint of summer. Quite simply, this means that historically yesterday was the hottest day of the year.

That does not mean our weather is going to change right away, it really just means that we are headed in the right direction toward fall. We are about one month away from being able to realistically start looking for our first fall front. Typically this comes at some point during the second half of September, but this varies widely. Anyway, if you’re tired of the unrelenting heat, just know that it will eventually relent.

Over the last couple of days we have also been talking about increasing wildfire risk. In recognition of this, both Harris County and Fort Bend County issued burn bans on Tuesday. The burn ban, essentially, means that no outdoor burning is allowed, except in an enclosure that contains all flames and/or sparks. At this point all of the Houston region’s counties, with the exception of Brazoria County, are under a burn ban. Expect these to remain in place at least for a couple of weeks, if not longer.

Wednesday

Excessive heat remains the name of the game for the greater Houston area. High temperatures today will reach about 100 degrees in Houston, with slightly higher conditions for inland areas, and slightly cooler nearer the coast. The only really noticeable change has been somewhat stronger daytime winds, up to about 10 mph from the south, with higher gusts. Skies will, of course, be sunny, with a less than 10 percent chance of rain. It is the same as it has been since the start of August.

Thursday and Friday

More of the same.

Saturday and Sunday

With high pressure remaining in place, there really is little change. If anything, temperatures may tick up a degree or so this weekend. So, super hot.

Next week

The early part of next week should bring more of the same. Realistically, we don’t have much hope for a pattern change for at least the next 10 days. After that there are some hopeful signs in some of the models, in terms of potentially better rain chances and somewhat cooler days. However I have to be honest, the current pattern is pretty well locked into place.

The tropics

We have not written much about the Atlantic hurricane season because there has not been much to say, and certainly no threats to the Gulf of Mexico. That continues to be the case, but we’re reaching the point where we can start to expect some uptick in activity in the Atlantic basin. If you want all of the nitty gritty, daily details, be sure to check out our sister site, The Eyewall.

Good morning. Alas, our forecast remains largely unchanged. High pressure is dominant today. High pressure will be dominant tomorrow. And that persistent ridge is going to remain into place at least through early next week and very likely beyond. This means a couple of things:

• First of all, please continue to practice heat safety. It is hot, hot, hot during the midday hours and you should know the signs of heat related illnesses.
• Secondly, we’re continuing to see high to very high fire danger conditions across much of the Houston region, especially for Montgomery County and areas further inland. The state has seen dozens of wildfires recently, and the number is on the uptick.

Also, I want to mention again that we’ve released an updated version of the Space City Weather app for mobile phones and tablets, and it is one we’re really proud of because it brings a lot of the features you’ve requested. It’s also the one way to ensure that you never miss a post during inclement weather. Which, presumably, we’ll have one day again in the future. You can find the app in both Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store. 

Tuesday

At this point, do I really need to write it out? It feels like we’re in the movie Groundhog Day. Highs today will be around 100 degrees, or slightly above. Skies will be mostly sunny. Winds will be out of the south, at about 10 mph, picking up a bit during the evening and overnight hours. Rain chances are 5 to 10 percent. Low temperatures tonight will drop into the low 80s.

Wednesday through Friday

Absolutely no change.

Saturday and Sunday

It’s still difficult to discern a meaningful change in the sensible weather.

Next week

I’ve saved the bad news for last. Whereas a couple of days ago we had some hope that this persistent high-pressure pattern may break down somewhat as we got toward the middle of August, at this point I’m just not seeing it. Sure, we might see some rain chances return by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. But the odds of meaningful rainfall at this point remain low. And temperatures still look blazing hot for the foreseeable future.

Editors note: We’re thrilled to release the latest and greatest version of our app today. As always it’s free, and we can offer this because of your generous contributions to our annual fundraiser in November. I want to thank Dwight Silverman for shepherding these changes, and Hussain Abbasi for his fine programming work. Here’s Dwight with more information.

When we first introduced the Space City Weather mobile app for iOS and Android devices two years ago, we sought to make it useful, simple and Houston-focused. The design was clean, the information clear, and the approach non-intrusive. There were no ads, and unlike most mobile apps, it did not track you.

We gave it some tweaks last year, adding more area cities, rain percentage chances, a live National Weather Service radar page, a Fahrenheit/Celsius toggle and more. Most of these new features were by request—we really consider y’all to be partners in our development of the app, and we thank you for your continued input.

But there were two high-demand features that we had yet to add—dark mode and tablet view. Well, you asked—and asked and asked and asked again—and this year, we have delivered.

Version 2.0 of the Space City Weather app is now live in both Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store. As always, it’s free—and still ad-free and tracker-free.

Here’s what’s new:

• Dark mode. We know that fans of a dark display are passionate about it, so we took our time to do it right, complete with ADA-compliant colors. For now, it’s triggered based on your system settings. When your device is set to dark mode, the SCW app goes dark as well. At the moment there’s no manual toggle, but that’s coming in a future update.
  
• Tablet mode. When you install the SCW app on an iPad or Android tablet, it expands to fit the space, with a different layout for horizontal and vertical orientations. If you have a newer Mac with an Apple Silicon processor in it, you can install and run the iOS version of the app in tablet mode. You can click and hold on the lower right corner of the window and drag it to adjust the orientation. It also is designed to display as a tablet on horizontally folding phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold family. You can launch it in traditional smartphone view from the narrow, external cover screen, and when you open the phone, the app appears in tablet mode. Nifty!
  
• Design. Our stellar developer Hussain Abbasi has done a fantastic job polishing up the visuals. The layout for stories now puts the photo to the right of the headline on the main page, making it easier to read at a glance, and the current story now has a heavier typeface. A gradation line has been added between hourly temps and rain changes, to visually indicate how quickly temperatures are changing. The whole app has gotten many visual improvements, and we think it looks great.

If your device is set to automatically download updates, you will have version 2.0 soon, or you may already have. If not, head to your respective app store and grab it.

We’re particularly excited about this release, because we feel we’ve now got a mature, truly useful app that will help Houstonians keep up with local weather in style, and on whatever platform they choose. We think you’ll love it, too.

Of course, because it’s a big update, there are going to be bugs. If something doesn’t seem to work right, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected]. Please include as many details as you can, including what device you’re using and the version of its operating system.

Again, thanks for your ideas, and please keep them coming. We appreciate your support!