Sunny to start the week in Houston, with an uncertain weekend

Houston had less than an ideal weekend, with storms Friday night and into Saturday morning, a gray day Saturday, and with skies only beginning to clear on Sunday afternoon. I’m sorry to say that next weekend doesn’t look ideal for outdoor activities either—although I wouldn’t bet on a total washout just yet.

Monday

It’s chilly out this morning, with lows ranging from the upper 30s up north to around 50 degrees right along the coast. A reinforcing cold front will move into Houston today, likely before noon, and along with this we’ll see noticeably stronger northerly winds. This will bring drier, cooler air into the region. Expect highs in the mid-60s and sunny skies, with overnight lows tonight in the upper 30s to lower 40s for most of the Houston region. A freeze is possible for far northern Houston.

Tuesday morning will probably be the coldest one of the week. (National Weather Service)

Tuesday

A cool winter day with a high only of about 60 degrees under sunny skies. Overnight lows Tuesday night will be a few degrees warmer than Monday as winds shift from the northeast to the southeast.

Wednesday

A pretty nice day. Moisture levels begin to return, but we’ll still see mostly sunny skies, and highs should climb to about 70 degrees for most of the area.

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Weekend weather and another look back at Hurricane Harvey

A lot of stuff to get to today. We’ll go through the forecast first, and then jump into the National Hurricane Center’s final report on Hurricane Harvey, released yesterday.

Today & Saturday

We’re thinking today will be a rather uneventful weather day. We should see a good deal of cloud cover around, with limited (if any) sunshine. Temperatures are starting the day much warmer (around 50° in most spots, roughly 15° milder than yesterday at this time), and they’ll likely finish warmer than yesterday too. We should manage about mid-60s this afternoon.

In terms of rain, the bulk of today should be dry, but there could be some sprinkles or showers.

Things do change tonight as onshore flow continues, driving in ample moisture. A weak disturbance passes offshore, and this combination will lead to increasing rain chances as the night goes on. The best chance for the most shower activity will be south and east of US-59. The general rule of thumb will be that the closer to the coast you get, the better rain chances will be. Saturday will see shower chances continue in the region, but I think they’ll be highest both in the early morning and later afternoon. And once again, they’ll be highest south and east of Houston. Still, have an umbrella handy Saturday. It will be warm again, with highs near 70 degrees.

Total rainfall tonight and tomorrow will be highest well south and east of Houston. (Weather Bell/WPC)

Generally, we’re only expecting about a half inch or less in and around Houston. Some coastal locations could see upwards of three-quarters of an inch or so of rain. Higher amounts will be possible as you move toward Beaumont-Port Arthur and Lake Charles. Also, watch for some patchy dense fog along the coast (or even in some inland spots) later today through Saturday night.

Sunday into next week

A cold front will pass through the area Saturday night without much punch. You’ll notice it more Sunday with lowering humidity and gradually decreasing clouds. Expect temperatures to top off near 65° or so on Sunday. Sunday night will be chilly, with lows back into the 40s in the area. Monday and Tuesday continue to look splendid, with highs in the low-60s and lows in the 40s. We’ll see a warm up with increasing clouds and minor rain chances after Wednesday.

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A hiccup before more great conditions next week in Houston

We’ll have one more day of sunny, really nice weather before a bit of a hiccup heading into the weekend.

Thursday

Houston will have another great day today, with high temperatures climbing into the mid-60s after a cool start in the morning. With sunny skies and light winds, this afternoon and evening should be a real winner for any outdoor activities. Later today the winds will make a subtle shift from northeast to southeast, and this will start us on a warming trend—especially during the overnight hours—into the weekend. Lows Thursday night will probably be 10 to 15 degrees warmer than the night before.

Friday and Saturday

The forecast turns a bit messier as Houston heads toward the weekend. Moisture will stream inland on Friday, and later Friday night an atmospheric disturbance will move up the coast. At this time the best chances for rainfall will occur near the coast, where perhaps there is a 70 percent chance of rain on Friday night through Saturday, with a lesser chance for inland areas. As the onshore flow picks up there could be a brief spike in moisture levels on Saturday morning that will fuel some isolated, heavy rain showers, but I think most of the area will see rain measurements in the tenths of inches.

Moisture levels, shown here in precipitable water, spike to about 200 percent of normal levels on Saturday morning. (Weather Bell)

Highs will be in the upper 60s on both days under mostly cloudy skies. A cold front will push through later on Saturday, or during the overnight hours, which will bring an end to the rain chances.

Sunday and beyond

After the front, Houston will dry out and see some more pretty great winter-time weather. Generally, for the first half of next week, the region should see highs in the mid-60s, with nights in the upper 40s to low 50s. So it will be chilly—but not cold.

Some rain chances return by Thursday or Friday of next week, when the region’s next front seems likely to move through. At this time I don’t expect a freeze for most parts of Houston, but we’ll be watching it for you.

Mostly superb winter weather to prevail for the next week or so

Houston experienced fabulous January weather on Tuesday, and we’ll have a couple of more splendid days before conditions are mixed up a bit this weekend. This is the winter most of us in Houston know and love.

Wednesday and Thursday

Not much changes for the next couple of days, as we see pleasant, sunny days with high temperatures in the low 60s, and overnight lows on Wednesday around 40 degrees—warmer closer to the coast and cooler inland. Thursday night will be milder, as the onshore flow resumes, and moisture levels begin to rise.

After a series of colder nights, Friday morning’s lows will be more moderate. (Pivotal Weather)

Friday

Those rising moisture levels will generate some clouds on Friday, and possibly some light, scattered rain. Even so, the better rain chances probably don’t come until Friday night, when an upper atmospheric disturbance appears likely to move into the region from lower Texas. Highs Friday will probably reach into the mid-60s and you’ll begin to feel the humidity.

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