Houston just enjoyed a splendid week of weather, and truth be told there’s more great fall-like weather to come for the region—nothing too hot or too cold. However, winter is not too far off. And as this graphic published on Twitter by climate scientist Brian Brettschneider shows, we are entering the historically coolest period of weather for the region:
When does the 90-day period of coldest weather begin? (Brian Brettschneider)
This indicates that the coolest 90-day period for Houston (and most of the Gulf Coast outside of Florida) runs from the end of November through the end of February. And indeed, there are some signs of more winter-like weather in the extended forecast, as I’ll discuss below.
Monday and Tuesday
After a cool start to the work week, highs will jump up into the mid-70s on Monday, and upper 70s on Tuesday. With relatively dry air (especially on Monday) and sunny skies, both days should feel quite pleasant, and nights will be mild with lows in the upper 50s to 60 degrees. As moisture levels begin to rise Monday night, we could see some fog on Tuesday morning.
Skies are already clearing this morning across the Houston region on Wednesday morning, setting the stage for a splendid holiday weekend—and as discussed Tuesday our weather looks really fine for quite awhile. We have only one small concern, which surprisingly after a year in which Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, is a lack of rain. Over the last two months a large part of the region has received just two to three inches of rainfall. As the US Drought Monitor map shown below indicates, the region is not yet in a drought. We are not yet even “abnormally dry,” but conditions now represent a mild concern as we enter a La Nina winter that is likely to be drier than normal. For now, it’s just something to watch.
Drought map for Texas as of Wednesday. (US Drought Monitor)
Wednesday and Thursday
What you see this morning is what you get. Wednesday will be breezy, as cool northerly winds blow in, but these should die down this evening. Both days will be sunny, with highs in the 60s, and chilly nights. For Thanksgiving morning, we should see temperatures as cool as the mid-30s for far northern reaches of the Houston metro area, with low 40s in the city, and around 50 degrees right on the coast. Thursday night will be a few degrees warmer.
Houston will see some spotty rain chances today before a cold front blows into the area tonight and brings chilly, holiday-like weather to the region for Thanksgiving. This will provide a nice contrast to the holiday’s weather the last two years, which has been muggier, with high temperatures in the 70s.
Tuesday
Some showers popped up near the coast this morning, and we will probably see additional showers and perhaps a few isolated thunderstorms to the south and east of the city today. A majority of the city will probably see little or no rain at all, however, as mostly cloudy skies limit high temperatures to the mid-70s. I expect a warmish evening before the front pushes through the region between midnight and sunrise on Wednesday morning. A broken line of storms may accompany the front.
Wednesday and Thursday
Expect breezy conditions when you wake up on Wednesday, as cooler and drier air will be blowing in from the north. We could see wind gusts in the upper teens to lower 20s of mph, and highs should only warm into the mid-60s under sunny skies.
Low temperature forecast for Thanksgiving morning. (NOAA)
Wednesday night and Thanksgiving morning will be a cold one, with lows in the mid- to upper 30s for inland areas, and lower 50s right along the coast. After a clear and cold start to Thanksgiving, expect light winds, sunny skies, and a high of around 65 degrees during the afternoon.
As part of our commitment to helping the community recover from Hurricane Harvey, we thought it would be helpful to write a “week in review” post every Monday. In the post-Harvey world, there has been no shortage of news about recovery, future projects, and ramifications of all that happened during the storm. This weekly post, largely produced by Matt, attempts to summarize the major news of the week, without editorializing. Please feel free to share anything we missed in the comments, or suggest additions for next week’s post.
November 20th’s Bloomberg Businessweek talks about some of the Energy Corridor’s experiences during Harvey. (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Harvey Recovery
Repairs to Harvey-damaged San Jac bridge to start early 2018 (Houston Chronicle): TxDOT has a lot to consider after Harvey, including elevating roads. Meanwhile, work to repair the US-59/I-69 bridge over the San Jacinto River, which was heavily damaged by the flooding will begin after Christmas. Some of the repair work could be quite substantial.
Houston area groups propose plan for how third Hurricane Harvey relief package should be distributed (Community Impact News): The U.S. House will soon pass a third aid package for Harvey relief. Governor Abbott has asked for over $61 billion in funding for various flood control projects and buyouts in addition to recovery. Much of that request is based on the Rebuild Texas plan. Another group has advocated for more comprehensive flood control the rest of Harris County. You can read about some of the differences between Rebuild Texas and this Better Houston plan in the article.
