Good morning my friends. After a chilly start to today, much warmer weather lies ahead for Houston, with sunshine and 80-degree days through the weekend. In fact, it should remain abnormally warm through the end of 2021. But what about the New Year? You may be starting to see rumors on social media about a snowstorm in Houston about two weeks from now. We’re, uhh, not sold.

Wednesday

Today will be simply lovely. With mostly sunny skies, high temperatures will rise to about 70 degrees this afternoon. With modest dewpoints, the air will feel exceptionally pleasant. Winds will be light, out of the southeast at 5 to 10 mph. Really, today will just be super nice for anything you care to do outside. Please enjoy if you can. Temperatures tonight will be 5 to 10 degrees warmer than Tuesday night as the southerly flow continues to modify our air mass.

Thursday

This will be the last day with moderately drier air for awhile. Highs likely will get into the mid- to upper-70s, but dewpoints should hang around 60 degrees which should be nice enough. Skies will remain mostly sunny, and winds will continue from the south. Lows on Thursday night won’t drop out of the 60s for most of the region.

Friday

Christmas Eve will be warm and mostly sunny, with highs near 80 degrees. Winds out of the south may become a bit more blowy, perhaps gusting up to 20 mph. As dewpoints rise, so too will humidity levels. Overnight temperatures will be in the upper 60s for most of the area.

Christmas Day

Christmas will see unseasonably warm weather, with highs likely in the low 80s for most of Houston. At least it will be sunny, with a zero percent chance of rain. If you went all Clark Griswold and bought the family a swimming pool this year, feel free to take a dip. Expect another warm night.

Next week

It now appears as though the possible front for early next week won’t make it, so we’re staring at a warm final week of 2021. Expect highs around 80 degrees and nights likely in the 60s. There probably will be a few more clouds, but rain chances remain low to very low. The most likely window for the arrival of our next real cold front is New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. This should, at least, drive lows into the 40s or 50s.

Snowstorm?

We’ve started to see some chatter on social media about a “snowstorm” coming to Texas in the January 4 to 6 timeframe. First of all, if you’ve read Space City Weather for any period of time, you’ll know to have a sufficiently high sense of skepticism about model forecasts 10 days out, let alone 14 to 16 days.

With that said, a substantially colder air mass is likely to move into Canada and the northern tier of the United States during the first few days of the new year—we’re talking temperatures 10 or 20 degrees below zero in places like Minnesota. But we’re not sold on a significant chunk of that really cold air working its way across the United States and into Texas, let alone to find the right conditions for snowfall. So while a snowstorm in Houston is certainly possible in early January, it’s probably a 1-in-20 shot at this point. I’d not buy sleds for the kids’ Christmas just yet.

Good morning. Temperatures range from the mid-30s well north of Houston to about 50 degrees right along the coast. Overall, the forecast remains the same, with this being the nadir of temperatures for awhile, and the beginning of a warming trend that will last until … ? That is the question. Certainly we’ll be warm through Christmas Day and the weekend. Perhaps the next front comes by Tuesday or so of next week. More likely, it will be closer to New Year’s Day.

Tuesday

With clear skies and light winds, this morning offers ideal conditions for cold weather, and we’re seeing that across the region. Skies will be sunny today, and this will allow highs to reach about 60 degrees before another cool night. However, as light winds start to return from the south, temperatures will probably be 3 to 5 degrees warmer tonight than Monday night.

Wednesday

Skies should still be mostly sunny on Wednesday, and highs will reach about 70 degrees. Winds will be out of the south at around 5 mph. Lows Wednesday night should be in the 50s across Houston, except for the coast which will be a bit warmer.

Thursday and Friday

The warming trend continues, with a pair of mostly sunny days and highs on Thursday in the mid-70s and approaching 80 degrees on Friday. Overnight lows will be solidly in the 60s.

Christmas Day

Expect more of the same: Saturday should see mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the low 80s. Yule not need a log on the fire, that’s for sure. The good news is that rain chances are basically zero.

Sunday and beyond

Sunday and Monday should see more warm conditions, with partly to mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the vicinity of 80 degrees. I’d say there’s maybe about a one-in-three chance that a front makes it through around Tuesday, and if not then, a much higher chance a stronger front arrives on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. This front has a chance to drive lows into the 30s in Houston, but since it’s 10 days away we’re basically in the arm-waving portion of the weather forecast.

Good morning. Low temperatures are generally in the 40s right now across the Houston metro area, and this is what a “normal” late-December day should feel like. (The 30-year average temperature for Houston is 44 degrees on December 20). The region will see two more winter-like mornings before we start a warming trend back toward something that is decidedly not normal. In fact, after the brief hiatus of winter-like weather to start this week, the remainder of 2021 looks exceptionally warm. More on this below, along with our Christmas Day forecast.

Monday

A light, misty rain moved through the region overnight, dropping about one-tenth of an inch or less. This system has now moved east of Houston, and we should see some breaks in the clouds later this afternoon. It’s still going to be chilly however, with highs likely topping out in the mid-50s for most areas. With clearing skies after sunset, this should be the coldest night for the rest of the year, with temperatures in the low 40s in Houston, and upper 30s for areas further inland.

Tuesday

This should be a clear, cool, and fine day with light northerly winds and sunny skies. Expect high temperatures to reach about 60 degrees. Overnight lows will probably be a few degrees warmer than Monday night, but still properly chilly for December in Houston. If you like winter-like weather, you would do well to soak up these conditions.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday

These should be partly to mostly sunny days, and will see a general warming trend. Expect upper 60s on Wednesday, mid-70s on Thursday, and highs of around 80 degrees on Christmas Eve. Overnight lows by Friday morning will be back into the 60s, with dewpoints to match. Rain chances are effectively zero during this period.

Christmas Day

Our confidence in this period is reasonably high because as a light onshore flow returns during the latter half of this week, it will return us to a familiar pattern. Christmas morning should start out in the 60s, and fog will be a possibility—hence the need for Rudolph and his nose. High temperatures will probably get to about 80 degrees, with partly sunny skies, and then we’ll be in for another warm night. Rain chances are near zero. Yes, this forecast is still five days out, so things could always change. But the fact is, they’re unlikely to. And if you’ve been paying attention to our weather this month, except for the brief interregnums following cold fronts, you know what to expect.

Sunday and beyond

At this point, by far the most likely scenario for next week is a continuation of our warm and muggy pattern, with highs around 80 degrees, and overnight lows in the 60s. Overall rain chances look low through at least the early part of next week. As for our next front, who knows? The next real signal in the medium-range models shows something perhaps around New Years Eve.

The bottom line: Wear your ugly Christmas sweaters today and Tuesday.

Good Saturday morning to you. We’re giving you a bonus weekend post to just give you a head’s up about today’s storms possibly packing a little more punch than expected.

Houston set another record high yesterday at 82° at both IAH and Hobby (tied). The atmosphere over Southeast Texas has atmospheric moisture available that is more typical for August or September than December, particularly south of I-10. When you combine that with wintertime meteorological dynamics and a cold front, you can produce some heavy rain and strong storms.

As a result, the Storm Prediction Center has nudged up our storm risk today to “slight,” which is level 2 of 5 on their scale.

As of 8 AM, the main line of storms associated with the cold front is just approaching the Bryan-College Station area. However, there are showers “front running” the main line. Some of those could strengthen as we warm up a couple degrees this morning.

So, for today expect scattered showers and storms to develop in the Greater Houston area between now and 11 AM. Any storms that develop do have the ability to become strong to severe. The main threat from storms today will be strong, gusty winds. Hail is possible south of Houston as well, closer to Matagorda Bay. The tornado threat today appears fairly low, but you can never entirely rule one out in these scenarios. Expect the main rain event to move in around midday, pushing south and east through the afternoon. Conditions should improve after 1 to 3 PM as most of this pushes offshore or into Louisiana.

In addition to the chance of some severe weather, these storms will be capable of producing very heavy rain for a short time. We should see 1 to 2 inches on average, though that may vary a good bit from place to place, with some seeing a bit under an inch perhaps. Regardless, some localized street flooding and areas of ponding are likely today.

Bottom line: Have a way to receive weather warnings today, just to be safe. Storms could be strong to severe, particularly from 10 AM to 2 PM. Heavy rain is likely in spots, and some localized street flooding can’t be ruled out.

The rest of the forecast from Friday is mostly unchanged. We just wanted to re-emphasize the storm risk today. Stay safe, and try to enjoy the day.