Thick fog returns as muggy conditions continue ahead of a cold front this afternoon

In brief: Houston’s fling with warm, muggy, and at-times foggy weather will end today with the passage of a cold front this afternoon. This will usher in several days of sunny, cooler weather with ample dry air. A warming trend returns next week, but the overall outlook for Christmas Day is mild, with rain chances near zero.

Sea fog

Conditions are ideal this morning for the development of dense fog, and we are seeing just that with light winds and saturated air. Visibility in some locations is as low as one-quarter of a mile, and it is making driving hazardous and slower than normal. And hey, driving in Houston at rush hour is already pretty slow and hazardous, you know? The fog should dissipate by a couple of hours after sunrise, and with drier air moving in this afternoon it will no longer be a concern for awhile.

One look at pre-sunrise temperatures this morning, and it’s not difficult to find the front. (Weather Bell)

Wednesday

After the fog clears this morning skies should be partly to mostly sunny, and highs will likely reach at least the lower 70s today with plenty of humidity. The front should push into northwestern regions by around noon today, as a broken line of showers (with perhaps a few thunderstorms). This line will progress rapidly toward the coast, and likely be offshore by the mid- to late-afternoon hours. Gusty northerly winds will follow, quickly dropping dewpoints. Temperatures will fall to around 60 degrees by sunset, and most of Houston will bottom out in the upper 40s by early Thursday.

Thursday and Friday

These will be a pair of fine, clear days with high temperatures in the low- to mid-60s. Winds will generally be light, from the north. Thursday night will again see lows in the upper 40s, but Friday night into Saturday morning will be chillier due to a reinforcing front. Expect some inland areas to reach the mid- to upper-30s.

Low temperatures on Saturday morning will be rather cold. (Weather Bell)

Saturday

This will be the coldest day of the forecast period, with high temperatures in the upper 50s to perhaps 60 degrees, with plenty of sunshine. Lows Saturday night will drop to the low 40s in Houston.

Sunday

Another sunny day, with highs in the low 60s probably, and a bit warmer conditions Sunday night.

Next week

Most of next week looks warmer, with highs generally in the 70s, lows in the upper 50s, and modestly humid air. The models continue to suggest that some rain will be possible later next week, but for now it very likely will hold off for Christmas Day.

33 thoughts on “Thick fog returns as muggy conditions continue ahead of a cold front this afternoon”

  1. Lots of people were commenting on how rare this warmth is this time of the year and how it used to be colder etc…

    Truth is the mercury has hit or topped 70 degrees on Christmas day 32 times since 1900 in Houston. Or about 1 in 4 years, not really rare for us at all.

    • While that’s probably true, I’d guess that at this point we’ve also typically had some cold weather whereas this year we have had maybe two cool days so far? I personally don’t want to live somewhere where it’s hot/warm year round and it seems Houston is heading in that direction which is frustrating.

    • While that’s probably true, I’d guess that at this point we’ve also typically had some cold weather whereas this year we have had maybe two cool days so far? I personally don’t want to live somewhere where it’s hot/warm year round and it seems Houston is heading in that direction which is frustrating.

      • I’ve considered the Caribbean, but it gets incredibly hot there, same with the Mediterranean, most of Europe has quite lousy weather – rainy and windy and cold, Australia is too far plus it is really arid there and the people are, well, they are Ozzies, so where else is there? The northern states are frozen waste lands for much of the winter. I was thinking of the Carolina’s until the latest hurricane wiped them out, and no one in their right mind would want to move to Florida, so, any ideas?

    • The warmth is not rare. It’s quite the opposite, in fact, because it is happening much more often than it did before. There have always been unusual warm spells in December and every other month. The point that people are bringing up is the fact that it has been happening much more frequently in recent years. It’s not just Christmas Day we are talking about. Average monthly mean temperatures during the entire winter have been going up just like the rest of the year.

      It is becoming much more likely to have warmer than average months. And we keep tying and breaking record highs at an alarming rate. Abnormal warmth used to be the exception decades ago. It is the rule now, and that is the part that people seem to have a hard time understanding.

      • Hey we agree. We get it! Most of the 2+ degrees F of planet warming has been since 1980. Directly observable. No need to read tree rings and such! But based on our politics, half the country is much much more alarmed by federal command and control. Do you really think they know best? Seriously?

    • Yeah, and since 2010, we have had six 70+ degree Christmas Days, fixing to be seven. Three of them were 80 degrees and above. This includes 2015, our warmest Christmas on record, with a high of 83 and a low of 73, which was also our warmest Christmas morning on record.

      The only other time we hit 80 and above on Christmas was 1964. It has happened three times since 2015. Notice a trend?

    • I lived in Houston for 25 years and I am back for the holiday season. it’s definitely gotten much hotter in the winter than it was when I moved here in the 90s. The weather is terrible in Houston and only getting worse. I’m so glad I moved away. I love having colder weather in the winter and it makes the hotter weather in the summer more enjoyable. I just can’t imagine people staying here much longer – this climate is rapidly heading toward being uninhabitable. Much if the US south will suffer a similar fate. My advice to my friends still here is to move away – this climate is not worth it for most of us.

  2. I think it’s the general lack of any lasting cool that’s frustrating. While I’m sure it’s been warm plenty of times on Christmas before, we’ve had some weeks of nice temps at least once or twice before then.

    I’m a native, and I do remember seasons back in the 70s and 80s. This is annoying and gross.

    • …also I didn’t get a chance to reply to the person that told their scorpion story from a few days ago – crazy!! My dad lives in Austin and has them there, but I’ve never seen them here. Fingers crossed you don’t see any more. Although they could be nice and at least eat the stupid roaches. 😆

      • Way back in the 1960s, in Chappell Hill, a couple of scorpions were found in a shoe at my Grand Aunt’s country house, when my family spent a night. At my great grandmother’s home, at certain times of the year, there would be about dozen tarantulas scattered crawling in the front yard.

    • Yes, it definitely seems like we go from summer straight into winter and right back to summer, with a very brief moderation between the two. I mean, our weather has always been rather wacky in that regard, but it seems like it has gotten more wacky in recent years for sure. And the cool spells are definitely happening far less often than the unseasonable warmth during winter.

  3. Warm, humid is good….the tropical plants stay around longer. Many disagree but there’s a cadre of people here that prefer the Gulf Coast semi tropical climate and zone 9-10 type growing conditions.

    • That’s me. I’m perfectly fine with warmer weather. I’m a native and this feels very normal to me. I love not wearing jackets and such when going out. Using the A/C several days in December is also not unusual. I can remember being a child wearing shorts and playing barefoot outside around Christmas time.

  4. I hate hate hate this weather! Three days of this awfully humid mess a week before Christmas is just too much! I cannot wait for the cold front to get here.

  7. This is shaping up nicely. Let’s keep this up! Would love to avoid any freezes this year.

    • The chances of that happening are extremely low but not zero. The last winter without a freeze where I live along the coast was the winter of 1994-1995. The last time the city of Houston had winter without a freeze was the winter of 1930-1931. So clearly, it doesn’t happen much around these parts.

      • Happens all the time, especially if you count years with just light freezes (>30F). The lowest temperature at Houston IAH for both 2019-2020 and 2018-2019 was 30F. For 2015-2016, it was 32F. 30F for 2006-2007, 31F for 2005-2006, and 30F for 2003-2004.

        Houston Hobby, Loop 610, and southeast Houston run even warmer. 13 out of the last 30 winter seasons did not drop below 30F at Hobby, that’s 43%. Hardly extremely low. Even if you raise it to years with 32F or above, it still comes out to 8 out of the last 30 seasons or 26.6%. Hobby did not see a freeze at all for 2015-2016 and 1994-1995, both lows of 34F.

  10. The cold front has cleared through Brazoria County. The temperature has dropped to 65 degrees in Sweeny with a steady north wind.

Comments are closed.