Gray Friday and a gray weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! If you choose not to burn calories fighting shoppers today, you’ll have clouds and humidity to contend with in and around the Houston area.

TODAY

I’ve been apt to describe this weather pattern as “obnoxious,” because it is. It’s a lot of clouds, a lot of humidity, tricky temperatures, and some light rain. It makes forecasting and planning for each day a little annoying. Anyway, today will be similar to Thanksgiving: Warm, humid, cloudy, and a few showers around (nothing major).

Forecast radar for 4 PM Friday; a few showers around. (Texas Tech)
Forecast radar for 4 PM Friday from one computer model; a few showers around, heavier rain near Dallas. (Texas Tech)

We hit 77° on Thanksgiving, making it the warmest Thanksgiving Day in Houston since way back in 2012 when we also hit 77° that day. We’ll end up somewhere around that number today too.

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Warm Turkey Day, with light rain possible through the weekend

Happy Thanksgiving! I’m thankful today for everyone who reads this weather site, subscribes by e-mail and otherwise follows along. Now lets get to what continues to be a messy forecast.

TODAY

After a partly sunny morning we should see mostly cloudy skies this afternoon. Some light rain will be possible, especially on the west side of the city. Highs will climb in the upper 70s.

FRIDAY-NEXT WEEK

We’ll see mostly cloudy conditions will intermittent light to moderate rain through at least Monday or Tuesday. The atmosphere will not favor heavy rain in Houston, because of the proximity of high pressure to the east. I suspect accumulations between now and early next week will generally be 1 inch or less for most of the region, with totals on the higher end to the northwest of the city.

NOAA rain accumulation forecast for now through Wednesday. (Weather Bell)
NOAA rain accumulation forecast for now through Wednesday. (Weather Bell)

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Your holiday weekend forecast: A wet (but not too wet) mess

Houston has a messy forecast ahead so lets dive right in.

TODAY and THANKSGIVING

Warm air is now moving into the Houston area off the Gulf of Mexico, and we’ll see a couple of warm, gray days with highs in the upper 70s and muggy overnight lows only falling to around 70 degrees. Light rain will also be possible on Thanksgiving, although probably not more than a tenth of an inch of rain or two, and most likely during the afternoon or evening hours.

FRIDAY, SATURDAY and SUNDAY

Here’s where the mess begins. Over in the Pacific Ocean Hurricane Sandra is expected to move north into Mexico, and then toward the Big Bend area of Texas. This will pump a lot of moisture into the state and create conditions favorable for heavy rains.

But when you look at the rain accumulation totals through the weekend they appear to be highest over central, and especially northern Texas.

NOAA rainfall accumulation forecast map for now through Sunday. (Weather Bell)
NOAA rainfall accumulation forecast map for now through Sunday. (Weather Bell)

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Official weekend forecast: Who the heck knows

Sorry I’m late this morning with an update, but there was a surprise announcement this morning from Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ rocket company. They’ve successfully landed a rocket booster in West Texas and that’s a huge deal.

Anyway, on to the weather. After lows in the 40s this morning Houston is warming quickly and we’ll get into the low 70s today under partly to mostly sunny skies. Should be a great day.

WEDNESDAY and THANKSGIVING

We’ll continue to see warming conditions for the middle of this week as the onshore flow resumes and humidity levels rise. Highs on Wednesday and Thursday will likely climb to nearly 80 degrees. Rain will also be possible later on Thanksgiving, especially during the afternoon and evening hours, although I’d expect light rain at most.

NOAA rain accumulation forecast for Thanksgiving Day. (Weather Bell)
NOAA rain accumulation forecast for Thanksgiving Day. (Weather Bell)

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