Let’s be honest, Houston. This summer has not been that bad. June’s average temperature was 0.6 degrees below normal, July was 1.1 degrees below normal, and August has been 0.6 degrees above normal. Although there have been dry spells, there have been no prolonged droughts. And while we’ve had some heavy rainfall, as summers go, there has been no widespread flooding. And then there’s this: The National Weather Service notes the city has not recorded a 100-degree day since August 29, 2020. So we’ve gone a full 365 days. The last time our region recorded a year without a 100-degree day was 2014.
That is not to say summer is over, but it is winding down. Most notably, days are getting shorter. Today there will be 12 hours, and 46 minutes of daylight, compared to 14 hours and 3 minutes in June. Each new day is now a couple of minutes shorter. The next 10 to 14 days do look fairly warm, to be sure, and there’s a chance we’ll yet hit 100 degrees this year. But after that I think we’re safe. I’d say there’s even about a 25 percent chance we see our first cold front in about 12 to 14 days. Finally there’s the threat of hurricanes. Fortunately we don’t see any immediate threats to the Texas coast.
Tuesday
Today will be similar to Monday, with mostly sunny skies and highs in the upper 90s. As atmospheric moisture levels increase a little bit later today we could see a few isolated to scattered thunderstorms, but rain chances are probably only about 20 percent. Winds will be light out of the west. Conditions tonight will be warm and muggy.
Wednesday and Thursday
Atmospheric moisture levels should peak mid-week and this will perhaps allow rain chances to rise to 30 or 40 percent. Showers should still be pretty scattered in nature, with partly to mostly sunny skies. Highs will be in the mid- to upper 90s.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
As high pressure builds over the region we should see mostly sunny skies this weekend with low to non-existent rain chances. Look for highs in the mid- to upper 90s with slightly cooler nights in the mid- to upper 70s. Plan your outdoor activities this weekend with confidence.
Tropics
The National Hurricane Center still gives an area of low pressure in the Southern Caribbean Sea a 20 percent chance of developing later this week. However, should anything eventually form—and this may well not happen due to the proximity of Central America—high pressure over the northern Gulf of Mexico should keep it bottled up to the south of Texas. For the end of August, things look pretty good across the tropics for the Gulf.
Um…August 29, 2021 was only 2 days ago.
And August 29, 2020 was an year and 2 days ago…
Read it again. The date in the article is August 29, 2020.
Yes, it was edited (changed) to read 2020.
August 29, 2020…Not 2021…
I love hearing those magic words “as high pressure builds over the region..”
Yes
The best part of the introduction was noting how the daylight hours are decreasing – fewer hours of sunlight means less heating.
Let’s transfer this heat to next February to offset any possible freezes like the “Freeze that Shall Not Be Named”.
Did I actually read the words “cold front” in your post???!!
The opening paragraph reads like something you will quote 10 days from now as an example of naiveté.
And this past winter was simply delightful.
I was just telling my husband that I can’t wait until our first cold front. Crossing my fingers for one in a couple weeks 🤞
I saw online that the Farmer’s Almanac was predicting another cold winter for Texas. Any actual meteorological support for that prediction?
The only misleading statistic will be the fact that Intercontinental Airport, the official weather station for Houston, is enduring their 11 driest August on record with only 0.83 inches.
That is only slightly misleading. It has been quite dry across much of the northern half of the region. (contrary to what was predicted for the month.)
We are probably less than 5 miles NE as a crow flies from IAH. We are definitely very dry and have been for almost 3 months. The rains have petty much slid East, North, South and West of my house. Frustrating! The water bill will be horrendous. We are watering for trees now not the lawn. 1.40″ in 7 weeks.
I’m guessing climate change is playing a part in our somewhat below average temp?
It has not been a great summer, it has been very wet and cool. The days of gloom will come soon enough, every year, the seasons come. But there is no point getting excited about dark, gloomy days.
Those are my favorite kinds of days! Late December, upper 30s to low 40s, not freezing but legit chilly, overcast sky, drizzling rain—and I’m inside, warm with a blanket, reading a book. The best part of winter!
Same here, I always look forward to shorter daylight hours and cooler temperatures, and tend to prefer the grey, gloomy, overcast days to clear and sunny skies during fall and winter.
People who work outside producing actual tangible goods don’t like the shorter days as much… The cooler weather is definitely nice though.
Glad to hear that the high pressure over us would deflect any Caribbean tropical storm system that might develop.
We were in Portland, Oregon a few weeks ago. Dare I say that we could not wait to get back to Houston to get a break from the heat??? Crazy!
And, that, my friends is what is known as “CLIMATE CHANGE”. Get used to it. It’s going to only get weirder and worse. Remember what used to pass for normal. Beautiful summers in the Pacific NW for example with cool temps, sunshine, and lovely forests. Well, I do remember those days fondly. Now it’s heat, fires, lots of smoke, and destruction. Painful to remember the past sometimes.