As air temperatures have fallen down near to dewpoint temperatures this morning, we’ve seen the development of radiation fog across much of the Houston area. This should eventually burn off by mid-morning or so, as air temperatures begin to rise.
Tuesday, Tuesday night, and Wednesday
After the fog burns off, skies should become partly to mostly cloudy today, with highs in the mid-60s. Rains should hold off until at least sunset, and as high pressure moves off to the east we should see the development of some scattered, light showers to the west or southwest of Houston this evening.
NOAA rain accumulation forecast for now through Thursday. (Pivotal Weather)
Lows tonight will only fall into the mid-50s, and we’re likely to see intermittent, scattered showers and thunderstorms during the overnight hours and through 10 or 11am on Wednesday. As for accumulations, for now the models aren’t showing anything too extreme. Accumulations of a few tenths of an inch seem most likely near the coast and in Houston, with one-half inch or perhaps a bit more for inland areas. Skies will remain mostly cloudy on Wednesday afternoon as a cold front nears the area, with highs probably pushing into the mid- to upper-60s.
Temperatures during the first half of December were slightly cooler than normal, but looking ahead to most of the rest of the month it appears as though our weather will take a turn to become slightly warmer than normal. I don’t think we’ll see any weather above the low- to mid-70s, but both days and nights should for the most part be fairly moderate for the beginning of winter.
Monday
Temperatures this morning are in the low 50s for the most part—colder well inland, of course—and we’ll see a healthy warm-up today as winds have shifted to come out of the south or southwest. I’d expect highs today to push up into the mid-60s or near 70 degrees under partly to mostly sunny skies. Lows tonight will be similar to Sunday night, and as temperatures fall down toward the dewpoint temperature we could see some fog develop late Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Rain accumulation forecast for now through Wednesday. (National Weather Service)
Tuesday and Wednesday
Highs on Tuesday will reach back into the upper 60s under partly to mostly cloudy skies, and moderately rising moisture levels will set the stage for rain showers Tuesday night. No models are really indicating the potential for heavy rain right now (and anticipated atmospheric moisture levels don’t really support that), so I think we’re probably looking at a few tenths of an inch of rain. Rain chances should slacken by Wednesday morning, and depending upon how much skies clear we could see highs of around 70 degrees with a sunny afternoon.
Let’s start off this morning by taking a look at the satellite imagery over Texas.
Water vapor satellite imagery shows an impressive storm system in the upper atmosphere rolling across East Texas this morning. (College of DuPage)
You don’t often see such an interesting picture this far south. What you’re looking at is an upper level low pressure system that is responsible for our winds and some rain showers across the area this morning. Winds have been gusty at times, but for the most part things have been under control. As this upper low shifts to the east, we may see winds pick up again. They almost certainly will in coastal areas.Inland areas will be a bit more fickle.
Wind advisories remain posted for Houston and points south and east today, where maximum wind gusts could approach 35-40 mph. Inland areas probably won’t see winds much worse than have already been experienced. (NWS Houston)
As for rain, we have a few showers up toward Brenham and College Station. The focal point for showers as we shift into the morning and afternoon will be north of I-10 and probably east of I-45. With temperatures in the 40s across most of the area, all precipitation should fall in the form of rain. There could be some wet snowflakes mixed in well off to the north today, out of the Houston area. If there are heavier showers nearby, rain could also mix with ice pellets (sleet). But there would be no accumulation. Showers should diminish toward sunset.
Elsewhere, look for clouds to linger most of today, with gradual clearing holding out until tonight. With the clouds hanging tough, don’t expect a lot of movement in temperatures today. We should manage to get to around 50 degrees this afternoon and that will be all.
Weekend
There will be no weather woes this weekend across Southeast Texas. Look for plenty of sunshine on Saturday after perhaps a few stubborn morning clouds. Temperatures will warm up from the low-40s in the morning to around 60° during the afternoon. Winds will be on the decrease as well, so Saturday is about as perfect a Houston winter day as you could script.
Sunday should be close to equally as nice. Expect mostly sunny skies, though some added high clouds may gradually increase during the afternoon. We’ll be a few degrees warmer on Sunday afternoon. Look for low-to mid-40s in the morning (a handful of spots likely in the upper-30s too), warming up into the mid-60s during the afternoon.
As expected, an area of showers moved through the metro area this morning prior to sunrise, dropping 0.5 to 1.5 inch of rain for most of the region. This mass of showers has now pushed east of the area, and as of 6 a.m. the trailing edge was about half way between Houston and Beaumont. A gusty front will follow this afternoon or evening.
Thursday
Some scattered showers will remain possible today until the early afternoon hours, but we’ll see nothing like the organized storms that pushed through earlier this morning. Skies may even become partly sunny this afternoon before westerly winds kick in and a strong front arrives.
This front may produce a very thin line of storms, or a few scattered thunderstorms, as it moves through, but for the most part I think it will probably be dry in terms of rainfall. This westerly flow will push temperatures down this evening, and we can expect a gusty overnight with lows generally in the mid-40s. If you’re heading out this evening, please bring at least a windbreaker.
Maximum wind gusts expected between now and Saturday evening. (National Weather Service)
Friday
This will be a cold, gray, and windy day—with gusts up to about 30mph or perhaps a bit higher along the coast. Highs for most parts of the region will barely reach 50 degrees. Despite mostly cloudy skies Friday night, lows still should drop down to around 40 in most of the city.
