It is quite a cool morning across the region, with temperatures ranging from the upper 30s far north of Houston—in places such as Conroe and Huntsville—to the 50s right along the coast. We’ll enjoy very dry air through about Wednesday before a warming trend begins heading into the weekend.

Monday

Ample sunshine will help our region warm into the low- to mid-70s today. With high pressure dominating our area, winds will be light, out of the northeast. We can expect another chilly night, with temperatures dropping down to about the same levels on Monday night as Sunday night.

Tuesday

This will be another sunny, cool day. Highs may be a degree or two warmer than on Monday, but as our light winds begin to veer and come from the east, temperatures Tuesday night will begin to moderate a bit. I would anticipate lows in the mid-50s in Houston—warmer near the coast, and cooler inland.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday

As the onshore flow becomes slightly more pronounced during the second half of the week, our temperatures will warm, and humidity levels will begin to creep up. By Friday, we should see high temperatures near 80 degrees, with lows only dropping into the mid-60s. Skies should remain mostly sunny throughout the week.

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend may see some more clouds, and possibly some rain chances. Right now I’d ballpark highs near 80 degrees, with a 20 percent chance of rain on Saturday, and somewhat higher chances later on Sunday or Sunday night. That’s when I think—emphasis on think, because there’s not agreement yet, and it’s a ways out—our next front will push through. There is a healthy signal for some rainfall with this front, but it’s far too early to say this with any confidence. Certainly, we could use the rain.

Next week and Thanksgiving

Most of the modeling guidance suggests we’ll warm up fairly quickly for the front, so unless another front arrives by the middle of next week we may be looking at a warm Turkey Day, with highs in the upper 70s perhaps. However I think there’s a reasonable chance another front will make it in time for Thanksgiving, to allow for a more festive feel outside. We shall see.

Tropics

Hurricane Iota is not going to come near the Gulf of Mexico, but the rapidly intensifying storm is nonetheless worth noting because it will make landfall in very nearly the same location of Honduras tonight as Hurricane Eta made two weeks ago. We have seen explosive intensification of this storm, and Iota now has 155-mph winds. This will bring destructive winds and flooding to Central America. Just terrible.

Fundraiser

We are entering the second week of our annual Space City Weather fundraiser if you are so inclined to support the site—by buying a t-shirt, sweatshirt, umbrella, tumbler, or simply donating money. The response has been tremendous so far.

Before I get into the weather, I really just want to say how floored Eric and I both are by the support you’ve shown us as we kicked off our annual fundraiser this week. We are truly humbled, and we cannot thank you enough.

Jumping into the weather, it’s pretty benign around here, and it looks to stay that way into next week, though with some changes that we’ve discussed through the week.

Today

After tying a record high temperature yesterday (85°), we’re likely to end up in a similar spot today, with low to mid-80s for afternoon highs. Today’s record is 86°, and we’ll see if we can make a run for that. We’ve got some lingering fog this morning that should dissipate by mid-morning or so. We will at least mention the chance of a shower, mainly south and west of Houston. It would seem that Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Austin Counties (and points southwest of there) stand the best chance at seeing some raindrops this afternoon, but don’t be entirely shocked to see some brief rain anywhere.

Saturday

After a mild, muggy morning with lows in the 60s, look for a mix of sun & clouds tomorrow, with highs once more in the mid-80s. The record high tomorrow is 89°, which should be safe. I wouldn’t entirely rule out a few passing showers tomorrow, though they would be the exception, not the rule. Onshore winds could gust close to 20 mph or so over Galveston Bay on Saturday afternoon.

With building humidity, look for a warm, muggy night for November. Lows may not dip below 70° in some spots tomorrow night.

Sunday

The challenge with Sunday’s forecast will be timing the cold front. Model forecasts have sped up some since yesterday, with most models bringing the front through during the mid-morning hours. The good news from a forecast standpoint is that what you experience on Sunday should be mostly the same regardless. Look for the muggy, warm morning noted above to continue. We’ll see clouds and some sun. Highs on Sunday should manage to get to about 80° (perhaps only upper-70s in some spots with a faster front), but with the front coming through sometime in the morning, it will feel a lot more comfortable by afternoon. The front itself may carry a narrow line of showers which would be unlikely to amount to much more than a tenth of an inch or so of accumulation. We’ll see clearing skies Sunday afternoon & evening, along with a modest offshore breeze, perhaps gusting close to 20 mph over the bays.

Next week

Monday and Tuesday will feature chamber of commerce weather. Look for sunshine, low humidity, highs in the mid-70s, and lows in the 50s, with perhaps even some 40s in outlying areas on Tuesday morning.

Look for onshore flow to return by midweek, and after a nice Wednesday, we’ll see humidity rev up a bit closer to the weekend. It’s also possible we are talking 80s again by next weekend. And barely any chance of rain. Speaking of…

Drought

Last week’s drought monitor report had about 8.5 percent of the Houston region classified in drought. That has ballooned to over 40 percent this week.

While Harris County is not in drought at this point, we are basically surrounded, including even a pocket of “severe” drought over Grimes, Walker, Madison, and Brazos Counties to our north. If you’re curious about the rest of the state, nearly 60 percent of Texas is classified as in drought, with about 20 percent (mainly in far west Texas) in extreme or exceptional drought. Droughts are one of the worst types of weather events to communicate because they can wreak havoc and are usually painfully slow to evolve. It’s pretty obvious right now though: We are seeing drought expand, we have little hope for meaningful rain over the next 10 days, and we are firmly in a La Niña, which is often a harbinger of a dry winter in the South. I know we have some farmers and other folks sensitive to drought that follow us. We are not yet ringing the alarm bells on a severe, long-duration drought for the region, but we are telling you that the players are trying to line up on the field. We’ll keep you posted.

Tropics

I just want to close with a quick note on the tropics. Invest 98L, the area tagged by the National Hurricane Center with a 90 percent chance of development is likely to become a depression or Tropical Storm Iota today or tomorrow in the Caribbean.

While it won’t be a threat to the Gulf, there is a chance that this one again rapidly intensifies and slams into Central America, not far from where Eta just hit, further cementing 2020’s status as an infamous hurricane season.

Good morning! Dry air has backed into pretty much the entirety of the region this morning, with the exception of Galveston Island and areas far to the southwest of Houston, such as Matagorda and Bay City. The map below shows the sharp contrast in dewpoints shortly before sunrise this morning. Drier air will linger through Friday before a more humid Friday night and Saturday. A front arrives Sunday to bring more fall-like weather to the region.

Thursday

Ample sunshine and drier air should help high temperatures climb into the low- to mid-80s today, with a light northeast wind. Low temperatures tonight will drop to around 60 in the city of Houston—with warmer temperatures along the coast, and cooler ones inland.

Friday

As winds shift to the southeast on Thursday night into Friday, we’ll start to see moisture levels begin to rise. This may lead to a handful of clouds, and we expect highs on Friday to reach the low 80s. Temperatures Friday night will be three to five degrees warmer than the region experienced Thursday night.

Saturday

The onshore flow will become more pronounced on Saturday, and so we’re likely facing a humid day, with highs in the low- to mid-80s beneath mostly sunny skies. Eventually, the onshore flow should bring to produce more clouds, and Saturday night looks quite warm with overnight lows in a lot of areas possibly not dropping below 70 degrees. For November, that’s sticky.

Sunday

Finally, there is some good general agreement in the forecast models about the timing of our region’s next front. It should reach far northwestern areas of the region—looking at you, Brenham—by around sunrise, push into the city by mid-morning, and reach the coast around noon. There is the possibility of some light rain showers with this front, but they won’t last as much drier air moves in behind. This front won’t be super cold—we’re likely looking at a few days with highs around 70s, and lows around 50—but the drier air will banish humidity for awhile. Dewpoints in the 30s are no joke.

Next week

By Wednesday or so of next week, we should see a gradual warm-up heading into next weekend—perhaps into the upper 70s. As for precipitation, I’m afraid there does not appear to be much of that in the forecast for the next week or 10 days. We sure could use some—one good rain would go a long ways with our cooler weather.

Good morning. Normal high temperatures for mid-November generally run in the low 70s for Houston, with overnight lows in low 50s. For much of the city—with the exception of some outlying areas far from the coast—we are going to run about 10 degrees above this through Sunday before our next robust front arrives. That’s OK if you like warm days, but bad news if you’re eager to wear a sweater.

Wednesday

A weak front has made it through most of the region and will limp off the coast later this morning. As the air dries out behind the front we should see our cloudy skies turn more sunny. Highs should reach into the low 80s today, but the night will feel more crisp thanks to the front. Expect lows to drop down to around 60 degrees for the city, with cooler temperatures inland, and a bit warmer closer to the coast. Winds will be out of the northeast at generally 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday and Friday

A generally northeast and then easterly flow should keep some of the humidity at bay, and as a result we can expect a pair of quite nice, sunny days. We should see highs in the low 80s, and with the dry air helping to drop overnight lows in the low 60s for most.

Saturday and Sunday

As winds shift to the southeast, we can expect rising humidity levels this weekend. Mostly sunny skies should help nudge daytime highs into the mid-80s, and Saturday night should be warmer for most, perhaps nearing 70 for some areas. Sunday should be mostly sunny again, but then a front will sweep through. Timing is still to be determined, but it probably will come through some time during the afternoon and overnight hours. The moisture profile with this front is not overly impressive, so I don’t think we’ll get the rains we need as it passes.

Next week

This week should definitely feel more fall like, with highs generally in the 70s, and lows in the 50s in Houston—and perhaps in the 40s for areas further inland.

Tropics

We’re still tracking Eta, Theta, and soon … Iota? Eta has become a Category 1 hurricane in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, but it should begin to weaken in the next 24 hours as it encounters more hostile wind shear. It will be a rainstorm, primarily, for Florida as it crosses the peninsula on Thursday and then begins to head toward the exits. (Yes, there finally is some confidence in the storm’s track). Theta seems unlikely to threaten major landmasses. When it forms in a few days, Iota most likely will track into Central America, and not reemerge as Eta did.