Houston going for a record fifth consecutive 80-degree day in December

The heat continues. Tuesday marked the fourth straight day of high temperatures of 80 degrees or greater in Houston, and the third record high in three of the last four days. According to data from Matt, That has happened five times before in the city in December (1933, 1956, 1995, 1998 and 2012), but all of the previous streaks came before Dec. 20. Today we’re likely to get our fifth—which has never happened in more than 120 years of records—before some cold weather sneaks into the region.

Today

You know the drill. Foggy morning, partly to mostly cloudy skies, and warm with highs around 80 degrees. Houston will experience one more very un-winter-like day before change finally arrives on Thursday. Looking outside, it dawns on me that for Houston, a White Christmas means fog rather than snow.

Dewpoint temperatures at 6am CT on Thursday morning. The front finally arrives. (Weather Bell)

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Houston ties its second warmest December day on record

This month’s anomalously warm weather continued on Monday, with a record high of 84 degrees. How abnormal is that? Just one day—one single day—has been warmer than that in all of the Decembers in more than a century of weather records of the city (Dec. 3, 1995, 85 degrees). The average temperature on Monday, 78 degrees, was 25 degrees above normal. Fortunately, this can’t, and won’t, continue for much longer.

Today

After a foggy start this morning (a dense fog advisory remains in effect until 9am CT), highs today should max out in the upper 70s. Mostly cloudy skies, and some scattered showers, should limit temperatures more than anything. A front will approach the region from the northwest, but should stall out before pushing into the city itself. This should help lows fall into the mid-60s tonight.

High temperatures on Tuesday morning are about 25 degrees above normal for eastern and southern Texas. (Weather Bell)

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A brief reprieve from the warmth, and possibly a wet New Year’s Eve

Well that … was a warm Christmas. Although we didn’t quite reach the record set in 2015 (83 degrees), the official high temperature on Sunday was 80 degrees. That gives Houston back-to-back Christmas holidays of 80 degrees or higher. And we’re not going to cool down for a few days still, alas.

Monday

Lows this morning are starting off at around 70 degrees for most of Houston, which is more typical for September than December. And today is going to end up feeling a lot like Christmas Day, with partly to mostly cloudy skies, southerly winds (although not as gusty) and highs near 80 degrees. There will be the possibility of scattered showers again, but accumulations should be slight. Lows tonight will again fall to only around 70 degrees.

Half of Texas is quite warm today, but the other half is cold behind a front that’s not going to make it all the way to Houston. (Weather Bell)

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Christmas weekend in Houston: Eggnog and fog

Though it won’t feel like it, Christmas weekend is upon us. Some of us may have trouble seeing it though; not due to too much eggnog but probably due to some dense fog. Let’s dive into the details.

Today

A warm front is lifting through today, allowing warmer and more humid air to begin to flood northward. As this happens, we are seeing some fog around this morning. We already have low clouds, drizzle, showers, or steady light rain around also, and that may continue throughout the day.

Today shouldn’t be a washout, but occasional light rain, drizzle, or showers is likely. (Weather Bell)

Even with clouds and showers, we will warm up to the low 70s this afternoon.

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