As of 9 a.m. the cool front had made it through Houston, and the strongest storms were moving quickly to the east. Temperatures have fallen about 20 degrees in the wake of the front’s passage, so adjust your thermostat accordingly.
Here’s an update on what to expect later today, tonight and Sunday
TODAY
The radar is quiet this morning across Houston and it’s likely to stay that way until early this afternoon. Later on storms may develop to the southwest of the city, in the Matagorda Bay area, and move north-northeast into Houston. Confidence is low in what may happen, but some forecast models show enough instability for some strong storms with this system during the afternoon and early evening hours before about 9 p.m, with some localized heavy rain. I can’t rule it out. Temperatures will remain muggy throughout the day.
TONIGHT
The main storm system will approach from central Texas later tonight in the form of a major squall line. I’d expect these storms to move into the western parts of Houston by around midnight, and affect the region through sunrise. Fortunately for Houston, while there is strong lift associated with the front, the atmosphere isn’t going to be all that unstable. This should limit the potential for very strong storms in the Houston metro area.
On Thursday, we maxed out at 78° officially at Bush Airport and 80° at Hobby. If you thought yesterday was warm, wait until today.
TODAY
I’m not sure what the split is going to be on today’s weather, but I imagine about 50% of you will love it and 50% of you will loathe it. It’s going to feel like more like early to mid-fall than almost winter: High humidity and very warm temperatures. We should be able to officially slide past 80° this afternoon for the first time since November 16th. Hey, at least we aren’t Laredo, which should test 90° this afternoon! Aside from warmth, it will be dry with a mix of clouds and sun.
It’s another foggy morning and a dense fog advisory is in effect until 9 a.m.
TODAY-FRIDAY
Goodbye winter, hello early fall. Houston will see two days of near record heat with highs around 80 degrees, with sultry lows in the upper 60s. These overnight temperatures are nearly 25 degrees warmer than normal for mid-December. Skies will be partly to mostly sunny.
SATURDAY
Saturday will start out warm and muggy, with humidities near 100 percent. Heaven help you if you’re running a half marathon that morning because it’s going to be absolutely miserable for long-distance runs.
Rain chances will be relatively low during the day, but increase a bit during the afternoon before spiking after sunset as a storm system approaches and clashes with the Gulf of Mexico moisture. The entire region is under a “slight” chance of severe weather, according to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, with damaging winds the primary threat.
