Welcome to the spectacular sunshine show

Houston’s weather on Tuesday was spectacular, and there’s more of it ahead. We’ll continue to see sunny skies and mild winter temperatures until Saturday, when a front blows through. And then, shortly after this, we’ll see more sunshine and fantastic winter weather.

It is a cold February morning across the Lone Star State. (Weather Bell)

Wednesday

Most of the region is seeing lows in the upper 30s this morning. But with light southerly and westerly winds, and abundant sunshine, we should warm nicely to about 70 degrees this afternoon. Low temperatures overnight should be a few degrees warmer than Tuesday night, with much of Houston settling into the low 40s.

Thursday and Friday

The spectacular sunshine show continues, as does a slow warming trend. Both of these days should see highs of around 70 degrees, but overnight lows will creep up into the mid-40s by Friday morning, and perhaps around 50 degrees by Saturday morning. Winds both days should be light out of the south or southwest.

Saturday

There’s finally some agreement among the models in a frontal passage on Saturday around noon, or during the morning hours. For inland locations, then, highs may top out in the 50s, while coastal areas hit 60 degrees before the front arrives. Most likely this will be a dry passage, as the air simply won’t be holding enough moisture to really generate much in the way of rainfall. Winds will be noticeable, from the north, with the front’s passage. Expect gusts of 20 to 25 mph during the afternoon and evening hours. Lows Saturday night will probably drop into the upper 30s for Houston, with slightly warmer conditions along the coast.

Sunday

This should be a fine, sunny winter day with highs in the mid-50s. Winds should not be too much of a factor. Expect lows on Sunday night to be a degree or two warmer than Saturday night.

The “0”s in the chart above represent ensemble forecasts for zero cloud cover for Houston. Which is to say, expect ample sunshine for the next week. (Weather Bell)

Next week

Another week, with more sunshine, is likely. Houston will probably warm back to around 70 degrees on Wednesday before another front brings a decent chance of rain seven or eight days from now.

Sunny, cool, and dry weather to continue for awhile

Houston will continue to see splendid winter weather for awhile, with no major temperature or precipitation concerns. Instead, we’ll see a sustained stretch of sunny days, with moderate days and cool nights. Enjoy!

Tuesday

It’s cold out there this morning, but as light winds shift to come from the south later today, we’ll see high temperatures nudge up to the mid-60s beneath sunny skies. This should also help to moderate low temperatures a bit tonight, probably keeping most of the metro area at 40 degrees, or above.

Tuesday’s low temperatures, shown above just before sunrise, should be the coldest morning for the rest of this week. (Weather Bell)

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday

Overall, a fairly cool and dry air mass should remain in place over South Texas. Highs will generally be in the upper 60s on these days, with light southerly and southwesterly winds. Overnight lows will generally be in the 40s, although by Friday night they may only drop to around 50 degrees in Houston. Dewpoints will remain comfortably dry. Skies will be sunny, with nary a chance of rain. This is great weather for picnics, field trips, outdoor classrooms, or anything else out of doors.

Much of the area may see highs of 70 degrees by Friday. (Weather Bell)

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend forecast is coming a little bit better into focus, although there are still some questions about the details. In the big picture, a fairly strong cold front is likely to move through Houston during the daytime, perhaps after noon. So it’s likely that most parts of the region will see a moderately warm morning, and then have things cool off with the frontal passage. Some brief, light rain is possible during Saturday along with the front’s passage, but I think that’s still very much an open question. Winds will probably be breezy on Saturday night, perhaps gusting to around 20 mph, with temperatures dropping to around 40 degrees in Houston. Highs on Sunday should be in the 50s, with mostly sunny skies and a northerly breeze.

Next week

After a chilly start, I think we’ll see a more robust warm up next week with highs returning to the 70s. Widespread rain chances return to the forecast sometime after Monday as well.

Houston to see lots of sunshine and cool, dry air this week

Good morning. After a dynamic week of weather, with widespread rain showers Monday, a smidgen of freezing rain on Thursday, and then very cold weather through the weekend, conditions will moderate this week. However, it’s still going to feel winter-like out there, for Houston at least. Normal temperatures for this time of year are highs in the mid-60s, and low in the mid-40s, and that is more or less what we’re going to see.

Monday

Just as temperatures are beginning to warm, we’ll see another shot of cold air today. This will be more of a reinforcing front rather than a blustery affair, so while winds will shift to come from the north I’m not anticipating anything too gusty. High temperatures should reach about 60 degrees this afternoon, especially after clouds clear out this this morning and leave us with sunny skies. Monday night should be the coldest of the week, with lows dropping into the 30s for the metro area.

Low temperatures on Monday night across Houston. (Weather Bell)

Tuesday

A pleasant, sunny day with light winds. Highs will generally be in the low 60s. Overnight lows will be a few degrees warmer than Monday night.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

The upper air pattern will support continued calm weather at the surface for Houston. High temperatures on each of these days should slot somewhere in the upper 60s, with mostly sunny skies, and overnight lows ranging from the upper 30s inland, to low 40s in the city, and upper 40s along the coast. This will be a splendid stretch of winter-like weather.

Is it going to rain this week? Not likely, brother. Here’s the rain accumulation forecast. (Weather Bell)

Saturday and Sunday

The forecast for the weekend is somewhat in question due to the uncertain timing of the next cold front. The most likely scenario is that the front comes through some time between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, and for now rain chances do not look terribly high with its passage. But timing and rainfall are both subject to change. Anyway, for now, I’d anticipate partly sunny skies on Saturday with highs of around 70 degrees. Sunday could be quite a bit colder, but for now I’ll go with sunny skies and highs of around 60 degrees. A light freeze may be possible on Monday morning, but I’m not sure this front will go that cold. We’ll see!

Cold this morning but mostly quiet in the Houston area

Good morning, and it’s certainly nice to wake up to no power issues related to the grid across Texas. ERCOT’s status is normal. That being said, we do have some considerable travel issues to contend with this morning. Those should slowly improve today, and the weekend looks like a pretty nice one, if you like calm winter weather.

This morning

Current temperatures across the Houston area are in the mid to upper-20s away from the coast and generally around the low-30s at the coast.

It’s a cold morning across the area, but temperatures will slowly warm up through the day. (NOAA)

Wind chills are about 10 degrees colder than this, with mostly low to mid-teens around the region.

Precipitation ended for most folks yesterday evening, and radar is quiet this morning across the area with everything basically offshore now. But the damage is done in terms of road conditions west of Houston. Icy patches are still being reported west of Katy and in far northwest Harris County. While you should be able to maneuver for the most part around the Houston area this morning, please use extra caution on bridges and overpasses, which could still have some icy patches.

Icy patches are reported mostly west of Katy and up toward Magnolia. Traveling toward Dallas or Austin may be challenging today, however. (TxDOT)

If you are traveling away from Houston today, use extreme caution. If you can postpone travel to Austin or Dallas, it’s probably advisable, as road conditions should not improve a lot today in those areas. Travel to San Antonio is probably manageable after this morning, but again, please drive carefully. Monitor road conditions at drivetexas.org.

Rest of today

Clearing is not expecting to be total today, and the most I’d bank on right are perhaps some brightening skies this afternoon. Otherwise, a lot of clouds. That will keep temperatures from getting much above 35 degrees today. It’s just straight up cold.

Tonight

Another round of light to moderate freezing temperatures should be expected tonight.

Temperatures will dip below freezing again in most of the area tonight with mid-20s north and west of Houston. (Pivotal Weather)

Continue to keep plants and exterior pipes protected especially and make sure to check on any vulnerable friends, family, and neighbors, as this is a prolonged cold event for our area.

Weekend

The weather this weekend looks just fine. After the chilly start to Saturday, we’ll warm up well into the 40s during the afternoon with sunshine. It will be cold again Saturday night, but this time only the outlying areas will see meaningful freezing temperatures. Expect low to mid-30s in Houston and along the coast and upper-20s to 30 or so away from the city and coast.

Sunday morning’s temperatures will not be quite as cold as today or Saturday. (Pivotal Weather)

Sunday looks delightful as well. We’ll see more sunshine and highs push back above 50° Sunday afternoon!

Early next week

A weak disturbance will likely stay offshore on Monday, but I do expect us to see some clouds and at least a rain shower chance along the immediate coast. Any rain won’t amount to much there, if it happens at all. Once that system passes, it will usher in a bit of a reinforcing shot of cooler, drier weather, along with more sunshine for midweek. Look for highs in the 50s Monday and Tuesday and perhaps cracking 60 again by Wednesday. Lows will be in the upper-30s to near 40 on Monday morning, then probably back in the 30s on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.

At this point, I’d expect generally cooler than normal weather to continue through at least Valentine’s Day. Perhaps warmer weather will be in the cards after then. We’ll see.