In brief: The word for the next week is tranquil, and there’s just not much to be concerned about as Houston enjoys one of its nicest periods of weather for the year. Winds will finally die down, and humidity should remain low through most of the weekend. Temperatures will, for the most part, be mild.

About those winds

The first week of April has been rather windy. First, we experienced robust onshore winds in response to an inland low pressure system. Then, beginning Saturday, winds turned sharply northward in response to the passage of a front. During the first six days of this month, the average wind speed has exceeded 15 mph, which is about 50 percent higher than normal during April. Every day so far this month has had a wind gust of at least 30 mph, and maximum gusts have exceeded 40 mph on several days.

There has been one benefit of this, however. It has shaken much of the tree pollen, particularly from oaks, down to the ground. We are therefore rapidly nearing the end of tree pollen season. In any case, winds should now die down as Houston’s weather turns more tranquil, and it is possible that we won’t experience a day this week with a gust of 30 mph or higher.

Monday

Temperatures have bottomed out in the mid- to upper 40s this morning, and it feels rather chilly outside. However, we’re going to see plenty of sunshine today and, indeed, for the rest of this week and that will help warm things up. Look for highs in the mid- to upper-60s today with very dry air in place. Winds will be from the north at 10 to 15 mph. We will likely experience one more night in the 40s tonight, so if you like cold weather this is a night to really soak it all up.

Tuesday

We’re going to be warmer, with highs in the mid-70s, and very light winds. This is likely to be one of the 10 finest days of the year, weather-wise, in Houston. Skies will be sunny, with low humidity. Lows on Tuesday night will drop into the low- to mid-50s. Seriously, I challenge you to find something to complain about (the weather, at least!) Be sure and tell any out-of-town visitors that this is what it’s always like in Houston.

Wednesday

More sunshine. We’ll continue our warming trend with daytime temperatures of around 80 degrees. Lows on Wednesday night will fall to around 60 degrees. This really should be another splendid day with reasonably low humidity.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

The rest of the week and into the weekend should continue to bring mostly sunny skies. Daytime temperatures will be in the vicinity of 80 to 85 degrees, with nights in the upper 50s to lower 60s. A weak front should arrive on Thursday night or Friday to blunt rising humidity levels, so our air should remain somewhat dry through the weekend. Honestly, there are just zero weather concerns this week at all.

Next week

Most of next week looks warmer, in the 80s and with more humid nights. Our overall rain chances appear to be quite low through at least the middle of next week. We have not seen our last front of the season, but one seems unlikely to push through Houston until at least the weekend of April 20 or so. Speaking of April 20, I don’t yet have a good read on weather conditions for Easter Sunday in Houston.

In brief: Showers and storms will cross the Houston area through mid-afternoon, with some possibly on the stronger or even severe side. Hail and gusty winds are the main concerns. It will turn sharply cooler this evening with gradual clearing tomorrow.

Things are quiet around Houston this morning, with just a few showers and a couple rumbles of thunder up near Huntsville. Otherwise, we have just a broken line of showers and embedded thunder on a line between about College Station and Columbus to our west.

Over the next couple hours, this “line” will move eastward, probably arriving in the Houston area itself around 12 to 2 PM. As the storms come east, the storms will likely strengthen some. That’s when we will see some heavier downpours, a little more lightning, and perhaps some 40 mph wind gusts. One or two storms could become severe with large hail, more damaging-type winds (60 mph) or even a very isolated tornado (mainly east of Houston). Those severe storms look to be the exception rather than the rule this afternoon, but we’ll continue to monitor things. We are in a level 3 of 5 (enhanced) risk northeast of Houston today for severe weather.

In addition to keeping an eye to the sky, keep an eye on the thermometer, especially this evening. Temperatures will peak in the 80s early this afternoon before dropping back into the 60s this evening and 50s before midnight. Out will be the humidity, in will be the light jacket. There will also likely be periodic showers this evening, possibly even a rumble of thunder or two. Things gradually clear out Sunday.

Just keep an eye on the weather today, but aside from one or two isolated severe storms, we do not anticipate things getting out of control.

In brief: Continued wind in Houston today will finally break tomorrow as a cold front ushers in showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. There is some severe weather risk on Saturday before we slowly clear out on a much cooler Sunday, setting up a gorgeous week to come.

Good morning, H-Town. Any day after an Astros “W” is a good day. The Astros are off today, and although the Rockets play an okay team from OKC tonight, today that W actually stands for wind.

Today

We’ll have to do some digging on how this spring has actually compared to previous springs in terms of wind when we get some time, but today is going to be no different. Wind advisories are again in effect today, and we’ll see southeast winds gusting as high as 35 mph. Oak pollen remains extremely high, and although we’re past peak now all this wind is going to keep carrying it around.

Outside of wind, expect another hot day today with temperature pushing well into the 80s and plenty of humidity. We get to track the potential for showers or a thunderstorm later this afternoon. Modeling has been trying to initiate storms near I-10 or just north before quickly lifting them northeastward. That may very well be what happens. As those storms move northeast, they’d be likely to intensify, and it’s not out of the question for a couple raucous storms to impact portions of Montgomery, Liberty, Walker, San Jacinto, or Polk Counties late today. We do not expect severe weather in the Houston Metro today. The highest severe risk remains up in far northeast Texas and Arkansas, where a moderate risk (4/5) is in place.

Saturday

After a continued breezy, warm, humid Friday night, we get to watch the potential for some strong thunderstorms on Saturday. The timing of the front hitting the area right now appears to be in the 11 AM through 4 PM window. It will enter the western parts of the area as a broken line of showers and some storms. As it crosses the Houston Metro, it will likely begin to ramp up a bit.

The Storm Prediction Center has us in a slight (level 2/5) risk for severe storms as this happens. The exact timing of the front may determine our odds of severe weather. A slower front would likely have more instability to tap into, whereas a faster front would hit earlier in the day with less instability. Generally speaking, the farther to the east you go, the better your chances of seeing severe thunderstorms. Whatever the case, we will update you Saturday morning (or possibly later today) with the latest. All severe weather hazards are on the table, including hail, damaging winds, and an isolated tornado or two. Additionally, any storm could easily dump 1 to 3 inches of rain in an hour causing some flash street flooding. Stay tuned.

Outside of storms, expect highs in the 80s again with lingering showers in the area Saturday evening.

Sunday

We will shift to a significantly cooler theme on Sunday. Some lingering clouds or even a few AM showers should give way to sunshine, but after a morning in the 50s or even upper-40s, we will limp into the lower or middle 60s for highs. It will feel awfully cool compared to how this week has been.

Next week

Bust open the windows! (responsibly, of course) It looks like Monday is going to be stellar. Morning lows in the 40s will be followed by daytime highs near 70 degrees. Tuesday? Nice; 50s to mid 70s. Wednesday? Nice; 50s to upper 70s to near 80 degrees. Thursday? Still nice! Warmer though with 80s. All we do is win, win, win no matter what next week. We’ll call that a “W” too.

In brief: Houston is continuing to see exceptionally warm weather this week, and we’ll also experience ongoing windy conditions. There will be a very slight chance of storms north of the region today and Friday, and the risk of more widespread severe weather on Saturday. Afterwards conditions appear to be gorgeous next week.

Thursday

Temperatures continue to be very warm this morning across the Houston region. The normal low for the city, on April 3, is 57 degrees. Yesterday, the minimum temperature at Bush Intercontinental Airport only reached 76 degrees, which smashed the previous record for high minimum temperature of 72 degrees for the day. We’re likely to set a similar record today.

A robust southwesterly flow in the atmosphere will continue to funnel warm air into the region today and Friday. This will help push temperatures up to around 90 degrees for most of Houston today even though skies are likely to remain partly to mostly cloudy. For April, that’s impressive heating without lots of direct sunshine.

The other factor in our weather will be the presence of a frontal boundary just to the north of the Houston area. This will do a couple of things. First, it will support strong southerly winds, at about 15 mph with gusts up to 30 or 35 mph. And secondly, for northern areas (probably along and north of Highway 105) it will produce a slight chance of storms. Down in the Houston metro area we cannot rule out some sprinkles, but we should remain dry for the most part. (By the way, this storm risk is historically high in the Mid-South, and you can find more information about this on The Eyewall). Expect another very warm night in the mid-70s.

Friday

We should see similar conditions on Friday, albeit with a slightly higher chance of showers in the Houston area, and thunderstorms for locations in Montgomery County and points north. Temperatures likely will be in the upper 80s for most of the Houston area.

Saturday

I’ve had a ton of questions about weddings and various outdoor activities on Saturday, due to the timing of the front, winds, and potential for thunderstorms. We’re just now coming into the range of high-resolution models, so we should start to get better details over the next 12 to 24 hours. What we know is that a front will push into Houston on Saturday, likely reaching the urban core of the city by around noon, and pushing off the coast afterward. The entire area faces a slight risk of severe weather during this frontal passage, with the usual threats of wind, hail, and possibly a tornado. At this time, it looks like the period of most concern for storms will be from mid-morning to the early evening in Houston. We should be able to nail this down more in Friday’s post. Highs on Saturday will be in the mid-80s with plenty of humidity ahead of the front before temperatures drop to around 50 degrees by Sunday morning.

Sunday

I expect rains to end at some point on Saturday night, but we cannot entirely rule out a few showers on Sunday morning. But skies should be clearing, and there will be plenty of drier air. Expect highs in the mid-60s, if you can believe it. It will be a bit breezy, with northerly winds of 15 mph or so, and higher gusts. These winds should die down by Sunday night, as lows drop into the upper 40s for much of the region.

Next week

Highs remain in the 70s, and lows in the 50s, through at least Wednesday of next week. Although the temperatures likely climb back into the 80s toward the end of the week, the air still looks reasonably dry. In short, it should be a splendid, spring-like week.