A mostly nice weekend for Houston

After a nice, albeit warm day on Thursday, we’ll see a near-repeat today. This before a cold front gives us even nicer weather tomorrow.

Today & Saturday

No record highs were set on Thursday, though Houston did eclipse 80° for the 19th time this winter, extending our record. We should be able to make it an even 20 days today. Officially, highs should peak in the low to mid 80s after some morning clouds give way to sunshine.

Speaking of clouds, be on the lookout this morning (especially southeast of Houston), as there could be some neat wavy or rolling type low clouds. What appears to be an “undular bore” or “gravity wave” is coming through Houston this morning.

An undular bore or gravity wave was seen coming through Houston on radar this morning, as indicated by the “wavy” nature of wind velocities. (GR Level 3)

It’s not a rare event, but it’s cool when you can catch it.

You may not really notice it, but a cold front is going to plow through the region later today. The wind will shift to an offshore direction and humidity will plummet.

Dewpoints and humidity will plummet today as the cold front moves through the region. (Weather Bell)

 

This will lead to a crisp, cool night tonight with lows in 40s in most places (near 50 in the city). It also means Saturday will be epic. Highs will hit the upper 60s to near 70°, and we’ll have oodles of sunshine and low humidity. Bottle it up and save it.

(Space City Weather is sponsored this month by Darrell Lee’s The Gravitational Leap)

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Houston weather on cruise control

Houston’s weather is on cruise control right now, and this delightful stretch of weather is still on track to continue into the weekend. The forecast in a moment, but first some housekeeping.

Records Fall

Yesterday saw Houston hit 83°, making it our 18th day with temperatures at or above 80° this “winter,” officially a new record. The old record was 17 days set in the winters of 1995-96, 1956-57, and 1910-11. We should be able to notch at least two, possibly three more 80 degree days before February and our definition of winter ends.

Another, more intriguing item I’ve been tracking has been Galveston and their affinity for record high temperatures this winter. In fact, Galveston has tied or set new record highs on 31 days since November 1st of this past year. It’s not as if Galveston is new to recording weather data either. Records there go all the way back to 1874, which is a really solid set of data for a location. Houston has only set 12 new record highs in that same span of time, though that is also pretty impressive.

Galveston’s record highs from November through February, with records set or tied this winter highlighted. (National Weather Service)

 

Now, I’m not sure what the odds are of breaking 31 new records in less than four months, but they have to be slim. The primary factor? Likely the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf is considered to be at a record warm level this winter.

But, out of an abundance of caution, I reached out to the National Weather Service office in League City to see if they had any concerns about thermometer calibration or recent land-use changes at Scholes Field in Galveston, where the temperature is recorded. They don’t believe there are any siting or thermometer issues, as the days that Galveston has broken records have occurred when, meteorologically, it made sense (temperatures start the day just warm enough to allow Galveston to capitalize on warmer than usual air masses in the afternoon). It’s just been that sort of “winter,” and it’s led to an incredible piling up of record high temperatures along the Texas Gulf coast.

(Space City Weather is sponsored this month by Darrell Lee’s The Gravitational Leap)

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Houston’s seasonally warm (but pretty darn nice) weather continues

Today will get off to a cool start, but conditions are going to warm up fairly quickly across Houston, and we’ll be warm—but not unpleasantly so—for the rest of the work week.

Wednesday and Thursday

As high pressure builds over the area, expect mostly sunny skies and highs of around 80 degrees, with some inland areas perhaps climbing into the low- to mid-80s. Still, we can expect conditions to cool down reasonably quickly during the evening hours, with overnight low temperatures in the 50s for inland areas, and 60s along the coast.

The GFS forecast for dewpoints at 7pm Friday evening shows the front having just moved through Houston. (Weather Bell)

Friday

Another warm day, with mostly sunny skies and highs of around 80 degrees. The difference will be that a cold front arrives on Friday afternoon or evening. At this time the front still looks dry, so I’m not expecting any rain along with its passage.

(Space City Weather is sponsored this month by Darrell Lee’s The Gravitational Leap)

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Houston to set record for winter warmth (but it will be quite nice)

Good morning. After Monday’s widespread rain, the region’s weather will now settle down for a while. The continuing story this week will be much the same as it’s been for this winter, warmer than normal temperatures. We’re almost certainly going to smash the record for total number of 80-degree days in “winter,” defined here as December through February. We’ve had 17 days with highs of 80-degrees or warmer this winter, and that ties the previous record set during the winters of 1995-96, 1956-57, and 1910-11. This week we’re likely to pick up at least one or two more 80-degree days before a front moves through.

However, with that said, this week’s weather should be quite pleasant. Despite the warmer days, it won’t be too humid, and nights will cool off. And this weekend? Oh my.

Today

A weak front will move through today, bringing some drier air out of the northwest. Although there’s a slight chance of rain with the front, most areas won’t see any precipitation and skies will remain mostly sunny for the most part. Highs today should be in the mid-70s, with lows tonight in the 50s—warmer for the coast, cooler for inland areas.

Wednesday and Thursday

High pressure will settle over Houston, bringing two sunny days to the region. Look for highs of around 80 degrees, and lows of around 60 degrees. As it won’t be overly humid, both days should feel pretty great.

(Space City Weather is sponsored this month by Darrell Lee’s The Gravitational Leap)

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