Three weeks ago, some unremarkable local weather site that shall go nameless made the following prediction: That Houston had had its last 90-degree day of 2018. And that prediction seemed pretty safe until Tuesday—when by early afternoon the high temperature had reached 88 degrees. Fortunately for that unnamed site, the high temperature stopped there, and didn’t tick a bit higher. (If it had reached 90 degrees, it would have set a record for the city’s latest 90-degree day in a calendar week by more than a week). Anyway, Tuesday sure was warm for early November. And we’ll have one more warm day today before a prolonged cool period begins. It’s also worth noting that the weekend now carries rain chances, whereas before it looked mostly dry.

Wednesday

A very weak cold front will push into the region today, and should serve as the impetus for some showers and thunderstorms. These are probably the kinds of storms where one or two relatively isolated areas in the Houston region pick up 2 inches of rain—and some hail is possible within the more intense storms—but most of the area sees no rain, or a few tenths of an inch. Skies will be mostly cloudy, and this should limit highs to the low- to mid-80s, rather than the upper 80s we saw on Tuesday. Lows should fall into the 60s tonight, except for the coast which will remain warmer.

Thursday

Highs will be more seasonable, in the mid-70s for the most part. Scattered showers will be possible throughout the day, but rain chances are probably only in the 30 to 50 percent range for most of the area, with the greater action coming during the overnight hours, with the approach and passage of a stronger cold front.

See full post

Good morning. We’ve kicked off our annual fundraiser for the year, and it will last for the next three weeks. We don’t want anyone to feel pressured to contribute anything, but readers often ask how they can help the site.

So once a year we sell t-shirts (as well as sweatshirts and umbrellas this year) and accept donations via Custom Ink. The money goes to support our operating expenses—zero server problems in 2018, yay!—and support the considerable time that Matt and I spend at this. Now, onto the forecast.

Tuesday

Fog has developed over the region, especially western Houston, but it should lift by around 9 or 10am this morning. After this we should see partly sunny skies and another fairly warm day for early November, with highs in the low- to mid-80s. Humidity will be abundant as well. Rain, for the most, part, should hold off but we may see a few scattered showers across the area. Expect a steamy November night, with most of the city not falling below 70 degrees.

Wednesday

Another warm day, with highs in the mid-80s, but as moisture levels pile up we’ll see better rain chances across the area. For the most part, this should be light to moderate rain, but we can’t rule out a few thunderstorms. I expect accumulations, at most, in the tenths of an inch. Nighttime temperatures will be slightly cooler, but still in the 60s inland, and low 70s along the coast.

See full post

After a pretty nice weekend—Sunday morning’s showers aside—our weather will turn warmer and more humid this week before a strong front arrives before next weekend. We’re not looking at anything too extreme, but we can definitely anticipate some showers and thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday.

Monday

The weak cold front that pushed into the offshore waters on Sunday is moving back onshore today, and we’ll feel that later this afternoon in the form of stronger southerly winds and rising humidity. Expect highs in the low 80s, with mostly cloudy skies. A word of warning if you’re traveling up into east Texas or Arkansas today, as that area faces the potential for some severe weather due to a separate frontal system. Rain chances should be near zero in the Houston metro area itself.

Tuesday

Another warm day, with high temperatures in the low to mid-80s, depending upon the extent of afternoon sunshine in your area. Highs will probably be 8 to 10 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year, but the heat won’t last too long. Rain chances will be in the 10 to 20 percent range.

See full post