Storms are possible this evening in Houston, bringing slightly cooler weather before a steamy weekend

Good morning. Houston will see a cold front move into the area later today and this evening. While the front won’t bring too much cooling, it will perturb the atmosphere to the point where there is now a reasonably high likelihood of seeing a line of storms move through the area. After tonight, a much warmer pattern will set in, with temperatures peaking in the mid- to upper-90s this weekend. Get your summer on, Houston.

Thursday

If your Cinco de Mayo plans include a fiesta later today, please note the potential for storms this evening. Temperatures today will rise into the upper 80s with a mix of sunshine and clouds, and we’ll see those familiar southerly winds gusting up to 20 or 25 mph. However later this afternoon and evening, a line of storms associated with the front is likely to form to the north of Houston, and push downward toward the coast. The high-resolution models have become more bullish on this line of storms holding up as it moves through Houston, with the main threats being straight-line winds and briefly heavy rainfall.

HRRR model of a simulated radar for 8 pm CT on Thursday in Houston. This is just a model. (Weather Bell)

I’d guess the line of storms reaches northern Houston around 6 to 8 pm, the central part of the city at sunset, and down to the coast an hour or two later. This is probably our last chance of rain for at least a week, so I’m not going to complain, and it now looks like most of the region will see 0.5. to 1.0 inch, with higher isolated totals. The storms should pass fairly quickly, clearing your location within an hour or two of arrival. In the wake of the front, temperatures may briefly drop into the 60s tonight, especially inland of Interstate 10, with slightly drier air.

Friday

With a bit of drier air in place, temperatures on Friday should shoot up into the lower 90s, with mostly sunny skies and light southwesterly winds. Lows on Friday night will bounce back into the 70s.

Saturday and Sunday

With high pressure building over the area, the weekend forecast is straightforward: Our entire region will see hot and sunny weather. Temperatures will probably peak in the mid-90s for most locations, but some western partners of the metro area almost certainly will move into the upper 90s. There will be plenty of humidity as well, so please do take care out in the daytime heat. Overnight low temperatures won’t drop much below the upper-70s.

High temperature forecast for Saturday. (Weather Bell)

Next week

Most of next week looks to be nearly as hot, with partly to mostly sunny skies, and highs perhaps in the low-90s most days. Rain chances are basically nil for as far as the eye can see after today and tonight.

State of Texas to feel the heat from the Valley to the Panhandle

Good morning. Houston has a couple of more days in the upper 80s before our temperatures spike this weekend. It will feel a lot more like July in Houston than May as highs push into the mid- or possibly even upper-90s as high pressure reigns.

Wednesday

Like the last couple of days, today will bring warm and breezy conditions to the region. A few isolated showers may pop up, but for the most part we’ll simply see cloudy skies this morning before some clearing during the afternoon. With partly sunny skies, look for high temperatures to pop up into the upper 80s, with southerly winds gusting up to 20 or 25 mph. Clouds return this evening, with another warm night in the mid-70s.

Thursday

On Thursday, an upper-level low pressure system will start sliding toward our region, and this may provoke a day and night of more dynamic weather. The day will start mostly cloudy, with more southerly winds. It looks as though a line of storms will approach and move through our region during the afternoon and evening hours, although I think it will probably be weakening as it arrives. This may briefly produce some strong straight-line winds, and we can’t entirely rule out hail or a tornado. But overall, the setup does not look all that favorable for severe weather.

NOAA rain accumulation forecast for now through the weekend. (Weather Bell)

Rain accumulations through Thursday night will probably be fairly slight, on the order of a tenth of an inch or two, but there probably will be a few pockets of heavier rain. Highs Thursday should reach the upper 80s despite the clouds.

Friday

As skies clear out, we should see high temperatures push into the low 90s on Friday. Winds will be light, out of the south.

Saturday and Sunday

As we’ve been discussing, this weekend looks hot. Beneath the influence of high pressure, it will feel more like late July than May, with highs in the mid- or possibly even upper-90s. We may well tie or set record highs on both days. And there will be nowhere to go for relief in the state of Texas, with blazing temperatures from east to west, north to south. Overnight lows will only drop into the mid-70s.

Forecast high temperatures on Sunday in Texas. (Weather Bell)

Next week

Temperatures will moderate slightly next week, with highs falling back into the low 90s, as the overall flow turns a little more southeasterly and some clouds start to return. Rain chances are next to nil for awhile, it appears.

Houston likely to hit the mid-90s this weekend

Good morning. The overall outlook for our forecast remains the same: We’ll see a breezy warm week, with a chance of showers and thunderstorms on Thursday and Thursday night as a dying front moves into the area. As high pressure settles in this weekend, look for really hot weather, with highs likely in the low- to mid-90s.

Tuesday

Skies will be partly sunny today, with high temperatures likely pushing into the upper 80s. Southerly winds will again be noticeable at around 15 mph, with gusts to 25 mph or even higher. There may be a few scattered to isolated showers and thunderstorms, but overall chances are quite low. Skies will be mostly cloudy tonight, with lows in the mid-70s.

Wednesday

This will be a day a lot like Tuesday.

NOAA storm outlook for Thursday and Thursday night. (NOAA)

Thursday

A “cold” front will approach our region on Thursday, but I hesitate to call it that because the front will not bring much of a change in our temperatures or humidity. However it will destabilize our atmosphere, and bring a chance of thunderstorms and potentially severe weather to the northern part of our region. Overall rain chances are probably about 50 percent for areas inland of Interstate 10, and 30 percent for areas south. Highs Thursday will probably top out in the mid-80s. Lows Thursday night will again probably be in the mid-70s.

Friday

As skies clear up, we’ll see temperatures rise to about 90 degrees on Friday. Winds will remain from the south, but should be a more moderate 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday and Sunday

As mentioned, the weekend looks downright hot. For most of the region, highs should slot somewhere in between 90 and 95 degrees, and with the humidity it’s going to feel like full-on summer in Houston. Congratulations to those who celebrate. Apologies to those who suffer.

Saturday’s high temperature forecast: Hello summer! (Weather Bell)

Next week

Highs will likely slowly moderate next week, especially with the return of some clouds, but highs should remain at about 90 degrees. A cool front may bring some relief in the Thursday or Friday time frame of next week, but please don’t hold me to that.

By this weekend, it will feel a lot like summer in Houston

Welcome to May, a month in Houston that typically feels more like summer than spring. Before we jump into the forecast I want to look back at April’s weather, which was warmer, windier, and brought us fewer showers that are supposed to bring May flowers. The average temperature in April was 72.8 degrees, which was 2.8 degrees above normal. The winds, perhaps the most recognizable feature last month, averaged 11.0 mph, which is more than 2 mph above normal. And while rainfall totals varied pretty widely, our regional drought worsened for areas south of Interstate 10. May will be warmer, but we might hope that it will be a little rainier, and a little less windy.

Monday

Cloudy skies this morning will give way to partly sunny conditions later today, with high temperatures likely pushing into the mid- to upper-80s. As an atmospheric disturbance moves through from west to east this morning, we may see a few light to moderate showers, but these should end by around noon. Winds will blow from the south at 10 to 20 mph, with some gusts as high as 25 mph possible this afternoon. It will be a humid evening, with lows only dropping into the mid-70s.

Forecast for wind gusts on Monday afternoon. (Weather Bell)

Tuesday

A similar day to Monday, with highs likely in the upper 80s and a mix of sunshine and clouds. Winds will also be notable out of the south. But whereas rain chances were about 20 percent on Monday, they’re probably 10 percent or less on Tuesday.

Wednesday

Most likely this will be another warm, humid, and windy day with highs pushing into the upper 80s. Rain chances again will be quite low.

Thursday and Friday

Our weather toward the end of the week will be partly determined by whether an advancing front makes it all the way to Houston, and down to the coast. I’m at about 50-50 on whether this happens, The front won’t bring much cooling, but it could spark a decent chance of showers and thunderstorms—perhaps 30 percent—on Thursday or Thursday night—and bring some drier air into the region. Highs both days should be in the upper 80s to 90 degrees, regardless.

High temperature forecast for Saturday. (Weather Bell)

Saturday, Sunday, and beyond

Regardless of what the front does, we can be pretty confident in a hot weekend as high pressure builds into the area. We’re talking highs in the low 90s, with lots of sunshine and ample humidity. This warm and mostly sunny pattern will continue at least into early next week.