Round two of heavy rainfall for Houston is coming Monday for coastal areas

Good morning. After the healthy amounts of rainfall the region received on Thursday and Friday—most areas picked up 1 to 3 inches—I wanted to reset expectations for the remainder of the “wet” period that will last through Monday. We’re probably not looking at any significant flooding, but it should be another wet and dreary day. Matt and I also wanted to take the opportunity this morning to thank veterans who have served our country. Veterans Day may be the one day we say it, but we appreciate our freedom every day of the year.

Finally, I wanted to remind readers that we have just kicked off our annual fundraiser, which will last for a limited time only. You can visit our merch store to purchase items or simply make a donation. Thank you for the tremendous response so far!

Rain showers are well offshore on Saturday morning. (RadarScope)

Saturday and Sunday daytime

The radar is quiet this morning, and based on the latest trends, I more or less expect that to continue for the remainder of today. Coastal areas, such as Galveston and Brazoria counties, are likely to see some intermittent, light to moderate showers. So rain chances for areas inland of Interstate 10 are probably 20 percent or less, with 40 percent or so for areas closer to the water. High temperatures on Saturday will reach about 60 degrees. Expect overnight lows to drop into the mid-50s. Sunday will probably be similar in terms of precipitation coverage, but highs should reach the mid-60s.

Sunday night and Monday

Rain chances will be on the increase beginning Sunday evening through Monday, as a low pressure system pushes into the area. There is not great consistency in the models here, but there are hints that some areas—again, most likely along or south of Interstate 10—could see some significant accumulations. Widespread rain totals may be around 1 to 2 inches, but some locations may pick up 3 to 5 inches by Tuesday morning. The bottom line is that you should plan for a wet Monday, especially closer to the coast. How disruptive might this be? It’s impossible to say for sure. We’re just starting to get into the realm of high-resolution models, so we should be able to soon tighten up this forecast. We will have an update on Sunday, if needed.

NOAA rainfall accumulation forecast for now through Tuesday. (Weather Bell)

Next week

Rain chances start to fall off by Tuesday, and we’ll begin to see some sunshine on Wednesday. Highs are likely to remain in the 60s or 70s next week, with nights generally in the 50s.

Looking ahead to a wet weekend, and it’s finally time for our big annual fundraiser

Good morning! Before jumping into the forecast we want to say a word about our annual fundraiser, which kicks off today. This is your chance to support Space City Weather, and the efforts of Eric, Matt, and the rest of the crew at the website. Your purchases and donations directly support our work, the operation and maintenance of the website, our app and its regular updates, and more. Because of your generous support we are able to offer Space City Weather for free, for everyone, without any nonsense such as tracking or intrusive advertising or clickbait.

This year we’re doing things a little differently. We’ve set up a store where you can purchase any number of different items and combine them for a single shipping charge. You can also simply donate money, if you like, which is greatly appreciated. We have three different t-shirt designs this year: The lightning shirt is something I’ve wanted to do since the heat wave of 2011, a riff on a rock concert t-shirt; The quadrant plays off our preference for the Astrodome to a heat dome; and for the first time since 2016, we’re offering the original design of our first t-shirt. It ain’t fancy, but it’s the classic.

So if you’re interested in supporting us, for a very limited time only, please visit our 2023 merch store. Thank you to all our supporters!

On to the weather!

A smattering of showers continues over much of the area. Expect off and on rain and drizzle today. (RadarScope)

Today & Saturday

The apt word for this forecast is “dreary.” No, it is not likely to rain the entirety of today and tomorrow. But there will be periods of light rain, drizzle, or even steady rain mixed in with drier, overcast stretches. The best chance of some heavier rain would probably occur tomorrow south of I-10. Temperatures won’t go very far on either day. Temperatures won’t go anywhere today, and if anything we’ll see a slight drop in temperatures through the 60s and into the 50s. These temps will probably stay there most of tomorrow as well. If you’ve been longing for a couple gray days with chilly, damp weather, well, you’re in luck!

Sunday

The back part of the weekend is probably the best chance for a bit of a respite from rain. I do still think there will be showers or light rain pockets around on Sunday. Rain may pick up in coverage and intensity from southwest to northeast in the evening hours. I’m banking on the first half of the day to be our winner of the weekend, which isn’t saying much. it will still be in the low to mid-60s at best with clouds.

Monday

We start next week on a stormy note. A developing low pressure system in the Gulf is likely to fling a good bit of rain and a chance of thunderstorms our way Monday. Some of the rain could be heavy, especially south of I-10. We aren’t necessarily expecting anything serious on Monday, but I do think we should keep an eye on things for isolated severe storms or localized flooding.

Rain totals through Wednesday morning will average 2 to 4 inches, with much of this occurring Monday. Higher amounts are possible, especially south of I-10. (Pivotal Weather)

Coastal conditions will be notable Monday with gusty winds as high as 30 to 40 mph in gusts possible, in addition to some rough seas. Monday’s highs will be in the low-60s, with lows again in the 50s.

Rest of next week

We should transition out of this pattern Tuesday, with only slight rain chances and decreasing clouds. Highs will be in the 60s again. We warm up Wednesday through Friday with temperatures rebounding into the 70s and lows back into the 60s. Our next cold front is probably arriving sometime next weekend. Details on what comes with that are too soon to say right now.

One more warm day before a cooler and significantly wetter pattern sets in

Good morning. Houston has experienced very warm (for November) temperatures this week, but that will come to an end with a cool front’s passage later this afternoon and evening. This front will lead to a wet and gray weekend, with temperatures in the vicinity of 60 degrees into the middle of next week. After all the sunshine it will be a bit dreary, I must say, but there are two good things to say about the pattern change. One, temperatures will feel more like November. And two, much of the region could really use the rainfall.

High temperatures today will be on the lower end of the 80s, and even cooler inland as a front moves in. (Weather Bell)

Thursday

Temperatures today are likely to climb into the low-80s ahead of the frontal passage, but mostly cloudy skies should limit them from going much higher. There may be some very scattered showers today ahead of the front, but the better rain chances will come late this afternoon, evening, and overnight as the front slogs through. This will not be a classic front that blasts into Houston out of the north with colder and drier air immediately, rather the cooler air will percolate into the region gradually overnight and on Friday. So don’t expect an immediate change in the air mass. Lows tonight will drop into the mid-60s.

As for rain, most of the area will see between 0.25 and 1 inch overnight and into Friday morning, with the usual potential for some areas to see higher bullseyes. So don’t expect anything extreme in terms of rainfall, but nearly all of us should at least see a bit of a soaking.

Friday

This will be a gray, damp, and chilly day. Rain chances are about 60 percent, with high temperatures gradually dropping during the daytime as the air mass changes. Highs will be in the low 60s for most of the day, with lows falling into the 50s overnight.

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend will bring more of the same. The cold front is going to move into the Gulf of Mexico and then should more or less stall. This will help funnel disturbances into the area this weekend that should support high rain chances, particularly on Saturday, and particularly closer to the coast. These will generally be on-again, off-again showers, so if you have outdoor plans this weekend they’re in serious doubt, especially for locations south of Interstate 10. Skies should be mostly cloudy regardless, with highs of around 60 degrees, and lows in the upper 50s. I don’t have any serious flooding concerns, but we probably are looking at accumulations in some locations of 2 to 4 inches by the end of the weekend.

NOAA rainfall forecast for now through next Tuesday. (Weather Bell)

Next week

Rain chances slacken a bit early next week, but I’d still peg them at 50 percent or so daily through Tuesday for areas closer to the coast (lesser inland). This will help keep a limit on highs as well, likely in the low- to mid-60s. We probably will start to warm up some headed into next weekend, perhaps into the mid- to upper-70s. I don’t have a lot of confidence after that, which means that at this point I don’t have much intelligible to say about the Thanksgiving forecast. It’s still two weeks away, after all, and only a turkey would try to make such a prediction.

Warm weather will make way for a wetter, more unsettled pattern in Southeast Texas this weekend into next week

We topped out at 87 yesterday at Bush Airport, about 12 degrees above normal for the date. We have one more fairly hot day, two more real soupy days, and then the weather pattern for Southeast Texas should change beginning late Thursday or Friday. We abruptly shift into a cool and rather unsettled pattern heading into next week.

Today

Look for basically a repeat of what we experienced yesterday. Highs will be in the mid to upper-80s with a fair bit of humidity. We should see a good deal of sun with some passing clouds at times. Southerly winds of 10 to 15 mph and some gusts will be with us as well.

It will be another rather warm day for early November across the region today. (NWS Houston)

Thursday

Consider Thursday the start of the transition. It will again be warm and humid, with morning lows in the 60s, but we will see a good bit more cloud cover by Thursday mid-morning or afternoon. Coverage of showers with the approaching cold front should begin to increase Thursday afternoon, especially off to the north and west of Houston. Normally I would say the rain may arrive quicker, but with a lack of any Arctic air push behind this front, I would expect just a gradual increase in rain coverage from northwest to southeast through the latter half of the day. Basically, if you have Thursday afternoon plans, include an umbrella. Highs should be in the 80s but a couple degrees less warm than today.

Friday

A gray day. We are expecting periods of showers with some steadier rain possible at times. It will be noticeably cooler with temperatures generally holding in the 60s all day and perhaps a slow drop toward evening. Not exactly cold, but certainly cool. The cold front will push offshore and likely stall somewhere. That front will act as a focal point for disturbances in the coming days, so where it parks is important for rain chances.

Weekend and beyond

I’ll preface this by saying there is a high degree of uncertainty in the exact day to day weather between Saturday and Tuesday or Wednesday. We have several systems to watch that will be capable of delivering periods of rain. I would expect a showery, if not rainy Saturday, especially south of I-10. Our highest confidence is that Saturday may be a fairly damp day for Houston and points south.

Sunday could see breaks of sun north and clouds and showers south. Monday should see more clouds than sun with a rain chance. Tuesday would see clearing, followed by a quiet Wednesday and Thursday. But as I said, there is very little confidence in the specifics here.

Average rainfall over the next 7 days will likely range from 1 to 2 inches north and 2 to 4 inches south, with both higher and lower amounts possible in these areas depending on the exact timing, track, and intensity of storm systems. (Pivotal Weather)

Specifics, details, and more are a long way from being settled, but there is the potential for several inches of rain over the course of the next week, especially south of Houston. The best chance for this may be around Corpus Christi and up through Matagorda Bay to Freeport and Lake Jackson, with diminishing rain chances as you go north. But much will depend on exactly what happens with Thursday’s front, where it stalls out, and what it does into next week.

One thing we’re fairly confident in is that temperatures will remain cool due to this pattern. Look for highs in the 60s this weekend and early next week, warming into the 70s by late week. Morning lows will generally be in the 50s. We will have more on Thursday!