Parts of Houston could drop into the 30s this weekend for the first time since March

Good morning! Houston will see one more day in the mid-80s today, with slightly cooler and drier weather to end the work week. And then, straight from the blue white north, a cold front will arrive and smack the region into late fall or early winter-like conditions, potentially driving low temperatures into the upper 30s for inland areas by Sunday morning. After that, we’re unlikely to see daily highs warmer than the 60s for at least the next week.

On Tuesday Space City Weather kicked off our annual fundraiser, and the support so far has been tremendous. Head over here to choose from a selection of merchandise, or to simply donate money (select “make a donation only”). Some sharp eyed readers noticed a minor error on the Four Seasons of Houston t-shirt. Thank you for letting us know. Rest assured that will be corrected before the shirts are printed and shipped.

High temperature forecast for Wednesday. (Weather Bell)

Wednesday

With dewpoints nearly matching air temperatures, some parts of the region are seeing fog this morning. This will quickly burn away as temperatures rise. We are going to see another mostly sunny day, with highs likely reaching the mid-80s. Overall, today should pretty much be a carbon copy of Tuesday. Overnight lows might be a degree cooler, but again much of the area will drop into the mid-60s. Of note: Today’s high will probably be the warmest temperatures we see for the remainder of 2022.

Thursday

Some slightly drier air will begin to work its way into the Houston area from the east, and this should help bring temperatures and humidity down slightly. Look for highs of around 80 degrees, with sunny skies. Overnight lows should drop into the low 60s.

Friday

A cold front will arrive on Friday, Veteran’s Day. If you are planning to attend ceremonies that day, I think conditions will be alright. Some scattered showers are possible during the daytime hours, but this does not look to be an in-your-face frontal passage. The bulk of the drier air will be delayed, and unlikely to move into Houston until later on Friday night, when surface winds will kick up. The bottom line is that we can expect scattered daytime showers, with highs probably in the upper 70s. Rain chances increase during the evening hours, with drier and colder air moving in after dark, and rains ending overnight. Much of the area will probably see between 0 and 0.5 inch of rain before sunrise on Saturday.

How low will Sunday morning go? (Weather Bell)

Saturday and Sunday

We’ll wake up to temperatures in the upper 40s to 50 degrees on Saturday morning. Skies should start to clear out some by the afternoon. Highs will probably reach about 60 degrees, but it will still be chilly out with a northerly breeze gusting to 20 or 25 mph. These winds should die down over night, and with clearing skies lows will drop into the upper 30s for inland areas, and low- to mid-40s for most of the rest of the region. This probably will be out coldest night since mid-March. Sunday should be partly to mostly sunny, with a high of around 60 degrees. Sunday night will be a few degrees warmer than Saturday night.

Next week

Most of next week will feel fairly winter-like for Houston, with highs around 60 degrees, partly to mostly cloudy skies, and lows in the 40s or perhaps low 50s. Some scattered rain chances will be sprinkled throughout the week. Looking even further ahead I’d love to be able to offer you some early guidance about what to expect for Thanksgiving, but it’s just too early to have any confidence, and I’d be a turkey if I told you otherwise.

Just how cold will it get this weekend? And our annual fundraiser begins today!

Good morning. In today’s post we’re going to discuss the four warmish days Houston will experience before a significant cooldown on Friday that will bring us much colder, fall-like weather for awhile. For those who have been pining away for a sustained stretch of sweater-and-hot-chocolate weather, your time is at hand.

This morning Matt and I also want to announce the opening of our annual fundraiser. Every November, for three weeks, we sell t-shirts, baseball caps, umbrellas, and more—as well as accepting donations only—to support the operation of the site. Your purchases and donations help pay for our server costs, fund the continued development of our weather app, and compensate everyone here at Space City Weather for our time. Every word we write is free, for all, thanks to your generous support.

This year we’re offering three different t-shirts and sweatshirts, as well as other merchandise. It all can found here on our 2022 fundraiser page. These items include:

You may also simply donate funds by going to any product page, clicking “buy/donate,” and then ticking the “donate only” box. Thank you so much!

This is one of our three t-shirt designs for this year’s fundraiser!

Tuesday

Houston faces a few more days of warmth before cooler air arrives. Today should be the sultriest, with mostly sunny skies, high temperatures in the mid-80s, and plenty of humidity. Winds will be light, out of the southeast, at 5 to 10 mph. We cannot entirely rule out a few isolated showers this afternoon, particularly southwest of Houston, but overall chances are probably on the order of 10 percent. Lows tonight will be a degree or two cooler than Monday night, dropping into the upper 60s for much of the region.

Wednesday

Houston starts trending toward slightly drier air on Wednesday, when we should see highs in the low- to mid-80s, light southeast winds, and mostly sunny skies. Temperatures Wednesday night should drop into the mid-60s.

Thursday

More modestly drier air will start to move into the area from the northeast by Wednesday night, and this will help bring down humidity levels a smidge. Look for highs around 80 degrees, with sunny skies, and overnight lows dropping into the low- to mid-60s.

Friday

Much more significant change is on the way Friday, with the arrival of a strong cold front. It’s not clear whether this will arrive during the daytime on Friday, or the evening hours, but it will bring a surge of significantly drier air into the region. Highs Friday will depend on the timing of the front, but upper 70s to 80 degrees seems like a decent bet. Right now I don’t anticipate too much in the way of showers or storms with the frontal passage, but it’s too early to say much with confidence. I’ll call it a 40 percent chance of rain, for now. Temperatures drop pretty quickly after the front passes, with gusty northerly winds.

Forecast low temperatures for Sunday morning. (Weather Bell)

Saturday and Sunday

Cold! This weekend will feel more like winter than fall. Both days will see a mix of clouds and sunshine, and high temperatures likely will peak in the upper 50s. Saturday will be a bit blustery, but winds should die down during the afternoon or evening hours. Lows on Saturday night should be the coldest of the week, possibly hitting 40 degrees just north of Houston. Sunday night should be almost as cold.

Next week

Something of a warming trend begins on Monday, but I think we’re going to stay in the 60s for high temperatures, for much of next week. It looks like the overall pattern may favor some mid-week showers followed by a reinforcing blast of colder and drier air. Did someone order winter? Because Mother Nature is door-dashing it to your home.

Bring some water to the Astros parade, because it will be rather warm for November

Good morning. Houston faces a sticky, and for November, very warm week ahead before a reasonably strong cold front arrives ahead of the weekend. Highs will be warmest to start the week before the region starts to see some slightly drier air from Subtropical Storm Nicole as it moves into Florida. The weekend will be downright chilly.

Monday

Some areas are seeing fog this morning with dewpoints and temperatures both in the low 70s, and very light winds. As the air temperature warms today, this fog should diminish. Temperatures are going all the way into the mid-80s today, as partly sunny skies this morning give way to mostly sunny skies this afternoon. There may be a few isolated showers north and west of Houston, but for the most part the metro area is going to stay dry today. If you’re headed to the Astros parade at noon in downtown Houston, please bring some water to stay hydrated with the ample humidity. Lows tonight should be a bit cooler, dropping to around 70 degrees.

High temperature forecast for Monday. (Weather Bell)

Tuesday

Some fog will again be possible to start the day. Otherwise Tuesday should be similar to Monday, with high temperatures in the mid-80s. Lows will be a degree or two cooler on Tuesday night. Rain chances are near zero.

Wednesday and Thursday

Expect more of the same warm weather, although we way see moderately drier air filtering in as the western Gulf of Mexico falls on the backside of Subtropical Storm Nicole, which will be impacting Florida this week. Accordingly, by Thursday night, lows should be dropping into the mid-60s for much of the region.

Friday

Our next cold front should arrive on Friday, probably during the daytime. The overall dynamics don’t favor much in the way of precipitation or storms at this time, but we’ll have to see if this changes. While there is unlikely to be much rainfall, I do expect plenty of colder and drier air, almost immediately. Lows on Friday night will drop to around 50 degrees.

Saturday, Sunday, and beyond

The weekend looks quite chilly, with highs in the range of 60 degrees, partly cloudy skies, and lows in the 40s. This will be some of our coldest weather this fall. Most of next week looks to remain on the chilly side, with lows continuing in the 40s. There will be some slight rain chances by Tuesday or Wednesday, perhaps. If you’ve been waiting for a longer spell of cold weather this fall, this is it.

Nicole will bring late season wind and rain to the Bahamas and southeastern United States. (NOAA)

Tropics

Subtropical Storm Nicole has formed in the Atlantic, and it is likely to bring wet and windy conditions to Florida this week. Note that as a subtropical storm, Nicole will have impacts far from its center. Some in Houston may be wondering about the impact of this on the Artemis I launch which, after two previous launch scrubs, is counting down toward another attempt shortly after midnight on November 14.

The rocket and spacecraft are already on the launch pad, and they are able to tolerate wind gusts up to 74.1 knots. Nicole is unlikely to produce those kinds of winds at Kennedy Space Center, although it might get close as the National Hurricane Center predicts a 12 percent chance of sustained winds of 50 knots, with higher gusts. NASA has not provided a recent update, but my sense is that Nicole may impact preparations this week for the Nov. 14 launch attempt, less than a week from today.

Strong storms possible later, but then a placid weekend for Houston

Alright, good morning Houston! Y’all good after last night’s Astros game? I mean, wow. For those that don’t know I (Matt) grew up a Phillies fan, so this series is both easy to watch and tremendously difficult. Last night was incredibly stressful across the board! The good news is that the weather forecast in Houston isn’t too stressful this weekend, except for maybe tonight. The primary weather story for probably the next 5 or 6 days will be that cold front tonight. It should be in and out of our area fairly quickly, but it may deliver some stronger storms before departing.

Today

For the most part, we should see minimal issues during the daylight hours today in the Houston area. There should be a few showers around through early afternoon, but any rain would be fairly brief. I wouldn’t entirely rule out a rumble of thunder, but any severe storms during the daylight hours today will almost certainly be far to our north or west. I would be eyeing north of Huntsville through Dallas east to Tyler for the highest chance of severe weather before sunset.

The Storm Prediction Center has most of the Houston area in a level 2 of 5 (Slight) risk today and tonight for severe storms. But areas to the north of Harris County are in a level 3 of 5 (Enhanced) risk. Severe weather today is most likely north of Huntsville. (NOAA)

That area is in an enhanced risk (level 3/5) for severe weather today up that way. It does extend as far south as The Woodlands and extreme northwest Harris County, but that’s most likely a precaution. Places like College Station or Bryan will be close to seeing storms by evening, but more on that in a second.

Outside of the slight shower chances in Houston today, it’s going to be rather breezy. We should see winds out of the south at 10 to 20 mph plus gusts, likely a bit higher over the water or along the coast.

The wind will be howling at times today, out of the south with gusts over 20 mph. (Pivotal Weather)

Back into the 80s we’ll go for highs today.

Tonight

There will be two areas of storms to watch for Houston. The first will come during the early evening. The tail end of that line of severe storms in northeast Texas could perhaps clip our northern readers from Conroe up through Madisonville east to Lake Livingston. That would occur between about 6 PM and 9 PM.

The second line of storms will develop back near I-35 in Central Texas during the early evening and arrive in the Brazos Valley by about 9 to 10 PM, the western part of our area up through Conroe and The Woodlands by about 10 to 11 PM and Houston shortly thereafter. Coastal areas will get the storms by Midnight or so. Give or take an hour or so on those time estimates. This is when we’ll have our severe weather risk, with strong, gusty winds being the primary concern.

Total rainfall won’t be too impressive, but a quarter to half inch for most seems reasonable, with a few isolated higher amounts. (Pivotal Weather)

Again, these will move quick, so look for maybe 15 to 45 minutes of rough weather and then just some steady to moderate rain and rumbles of thunder for a couple hours after that. By sunrise on Saturday, virtually all the rain will be offshore and off to our east.

Temperatures will drop behind the front into the 60s and 50s. Winds will actually back down a bit behind the front as well.

Weekend

Overall, the weekend looks fine with no real weather issues. Clouds should clear out on Saturday morning. I know there’s been some confusion out there with Saturday morning’s outlook, but if you have any outdoor plans you should be able to confidently proceed with them tomorrow morning. It will be a bit cooler for sure though. Morning 60s will give way to the low or mid-70s. The turnaround to more humid weather will be rapid, however, and by Saturday night, after dropping into the 50s or low-60s, we may see temperatures begin to even rise a bit toward Sunday morning. Sunday itself will be fine with sun and clouds. But look for building humidity and highs well into the 70s, if not low-80s.

Astros Forecast

So, based on all that obviously, both days look just fine for any pregame or postgame festivities and/or celebrations. Your attire may be different for game 6 or (if necessary) game 7, however. Game 6 should be cool and only slightly humid with temperatures mostly in the 60s pregame and maybe even the upper 50s postgame. Will the roof be open? I’d argue MLB will say yes based on the weather. But we’ll see.

For a potential game 7, you would probably be dressing a bit lighter with mild temperatures and higher humidity. Temperatures should be in the 70s throughout. My guess is that the roof would almost certainly be open for a game 7. Somewhat chaotic winds would be blowing out to the Crawford Boxes, and with higher humidity a game 7 could be a slugfest. Whatever the case, Space City Weather says go Astros!

Next week

We could see a few isolated showers on Monday, but at this point it doesn’t look like much. The good news is that the higher humidity will probably peak on Monday or Tuesday before slowly declining some as the week goes on. Our next cold front is probably worth penciling in for about next Friday or Saturday. Details are TBD, but that may usher in a somewhat more prolonged cooler, less humid stretch than we’ve seen so far this autumn.