Storms are rolling through Houston this morning, along a front that will bring intermittent thunderstorms. The primary concern during the morning hours, until about noon, will be brief periods of heavy rainfall—but we don’t anticipate any severe weather such as hail or tornadoes. Some areas of west Houston have received as much as 1 inch of rain as of 5:45am this morning, and an additional 0.25 to 0.75 inch is possible this morning. Very briefly flooded streets are the only real concern. High resolution models show this system clearing from 9am to noon, from west to east, across Houston.

Thursday

Today will be a day of two parts. After this morning’s showers and thunderstorms, we’ll see strong, northwesterly winds move into the region from the west that could gust up to 25 mph this afternoon. Skies should clear out, and depending on how much sunshine the area receives, highs could get up to around 80 degrees. Conditions tonight should be breezy, with mostly clear skies, and highs generally in the 50s across Houston. Winds again will be the story, with gusts perhaps up to 30mph, especially for coastal areas.

Friday

This will be a sunny, breezy, cool (for April) day with high temperatures likely in the mid-70s. We could see some wind gusts during the afternoon hours in the 20-25 mph range, but otherwise the weather should be splendid, with dry northerly air. Lows Friday night may fall into the upper 40s for well inland areas, but likely will be around 50 for most of the area.

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Good morning. Conditions are almost summer-like this morning, with lows coming down only into the low-70s for much of the region, with dewpoints not far behind. Southerly winds, too, are pumping moisture inland to set up the potential for storms late tonight and Thursday morning, and we’ve got full details below. Easter weekend also continues too look good, weather-wise.

Wednesday

Today will be a mostly cloudy affair, with highs perhaps getting up to around 80 degrees for most of the region with lots of humidity. Houston should see some scattered showers later this afternoon, but they’re likely to be of the light-to-moderate variety as the atmosphere won’t be ready to break open just yet. South and southeast winds will blow all day, gusting at times to around 20 mph.

Wednesday night and Thursday

A line of severe weather will develop before midnight to the west of the Interstate 35 corridor, and progress eastward across the state on Thursday morning. For areas west of Houston (and Katy) and north of Houston (and The Woodlands) chances are that some of these storms will hold together to present a threat of heavy rainfall, and perhaps some hail. But a fairly strong capping inversion should hold over the metro region itself, and the effect should be a breaking of the line of thunderstorms as it near the Houston region around sunrise. Here’s how the NAM forecast model depicts the “line” of storms at 8am Thursday.

The bottom line is that conditions will be fine today and likely this evening for the Houston region, with just some scattered showers. The bigger concern will come around sunrise on Thursday, in the midst of rush hour, with the potential for strong thunderstorms. For now we think Houston will see some downpours at that time, but nothing too severe that lasts too long. Accumulations close to 0.5 inch are likely near the coast, with perhaps 1.5 inches of rain for inland areas like The Woodlands. We’ll have a comprehensive post up by 6:30am CT Thursday with the latest.

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Good morning. We’ll have one more mild day before a potentially stormy Wednesday and Wednesday night, which will herald the arrival of a cold front. This front will then usher in a very fine spring weekend for Houston, with mostly sunny skies extending through the Easter holiday.

Tuesday

Temperatures have fallen to near 60 degrees this morning, but we’ll warm up pretty quickly under partly sunny skies. Highs today will reach about 80, and perhaps a bit higher where sunshine is more consistent into the afternoon hours. The other feature of note will be strong southerly winds, which could gust above 20mph. Conditions Tuesday night will be warm and muggy, with temperatures unlikely to fall below 70 degrees for most of the region, and cloudy skies.

Wednesday through Thursday morning

A storm system will move across the state of Texas on Wednesday, and Wednesday night, and Houston will lie along the southern periphery of the main action. We’re in the middle of spring storm season, and this front may deliver a combination of heavy rainfall, hail, and possibly even damaging winds. However, the dynamics for these heavy rains are more favorable for central Texas than closer to the coast, and that’s reflected in NOAA’s storm outlook:

The bottom line is that we’ll see a chance of showers on Wednesday, with the best rain chances after midnight Wednesday, and early on Thursday morning. Rain accumulations for Houston likely will be somewhere between 0.5 and 1.5 inches, with the higher-end totals more likely for areas north of Interstate 10.

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After Saturday’s storms, and then the blustery cold front, Houston will see a lot of sunshine. Then we’ll see another front Thursday, which should hopefully set us up for a mostly sunny holiday weekend. We can be pretty confident in this point in a rain-free Easter, at least as confident as one can be six days out.

Monday

Today should be a rather pleasant day for the region, with sunny skies, and highs around 80 degrees. South winds will pick up a bit today, so the drier air we saw this weekend will give way to rising humidity. Lows tonight will be down around 60 degrees—warmer along the coast and a bit cooler inland. One concern: Today is an ozone action day for Houston, when high levels of ozone pollution are possible.

Tuesday

As southerly winds return, we’ll see an increase in clouds on Tuesday, although the sunshine won’t go away entirely. Southerly winds will be noticeable, likely picking up to 15 to 20mph, and this increasing moisture will set the stage for some rain showers later in the week. Highs Tuesday will depend upon the extent of sunshine over your location, but probably will be in the vicinity of 80 degrees. Lows Tuesday night, as clouds build and with the influx of warmer air, are unlikely to fall much below 70.

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