Summary: Houston will experience some fairly chilly weather for the next 24 hours, with highs today in the 50s and lows in the 40s overnight. We may also see some light showers on top of that. The weekend will warm nicely, with plenty of sunshine on Saturday. Our best chance at widespread rain, with decent accumulations, will come next Monday.
Thursday
We’re starting out today with temperatures of about 50 degrees, and due to a preponderance of clouds we likely aren’t going to rise much higher. Temperatures this afternoon should peak in the upper-50s across the Houston region and now that we’re at the end of February, I can’t help but wonder when that will happen again. Probably not for many months. (Houston’s first high in the 50s last fall came on October 30).
In any case it’s going to be cloudy and chilly. The atmosphere is pretty dried out right now, but that will change today as a more southerly flow takes hold just above the surface. With more moisture in the atmosphere we’ll see an increasing chance of very light rain this afternoon and evening, although accumulations during the overnight hours will be measured in hundredths of an inch for most.
Rodeo forecast
Bring a jacket, maybe. Temperatures will be in the mid-50s this afternoon as you venture out to the rodeo, and as mentioned there will be a chance of light rain, perhaps about 40 percent or so. Winds, from the northeast at the surface, will be fairly light. Things won’t change much after the concert, with temperatures in the low-50s, more clouds, and a continuing chance of light rain.
Friday
This will be our coldest morning for some time as much of Houston falls into the upper 40s. We’ll see some clearing skies later on Friday, and in conjunction with a more easterly flow this will help temperatures warm to about 70 degrees, perhaps a tick warmer. Lows on Friday night will drop into the 50s.
Saturday and Sunday
The weekend still looks good to go for outdoor activities. Saturday looks quite nice with mostly sunny skies and highs in the upper 70s to 80 degrees. Lows will drop to around 60 degrees. Sunday will see more clouds, and a bit muggier air, as highs reach about 80 degrees. There’s a slight chance of some showers later on Sunday but I think they’re likely to hold off until Monday. Lows on Sunday night will only drop into the 60s.
Next week
The details are still uncertain, but it looks as though a front will move into the vicinity of Houston on Monday and stall out. This will lead to a healthy chance of rain showers on Monday and Monday night, possibly stretching into Tuesday morning. I think most of the area probably will see around 1 inch of rain, give or take. After that temperatures will depend on the front, but since it now seems likely to stall, I bet we see highs of around 80 degrees, with lows in the 60s, for most of next week. Conditions may turn a bit cooler toward next weekend.
Wild weather
In some parts of Texas, and around the country, there’s been some pretty wild weather of late. We’ve got the rundown on wildfires in the Texas panhandle, tornadoes in Michigan, and more in The Eyewall.
I’ll admit that headline made me sad since 8 months is a long time. But, it also motivates me to get outside on this leap day and weekend.
Hopefully we’ll have overnight lows in the 50s occurring through March or April.
Last day of a bitter 4 month long winter!
Bitter? Oof, that’s a stretch.
Sarcasm I’m thinking. Seriously using the words Houston and winter together is a stretch, does a week or two of coldish weather really constitute winter regardless of what the calendar may say?
Where were you living? This has hardly been any winter at all in Houston.
I think it just boils down to personal perception. Some people consider highs in the 60s with lows in the 40s as “cold winter weather”. I personally think highs in 40s with lows in the 30s and 20s is actual cold winter weather for this area. It is uncommon for us to see a sustainable period of cold weather like that down here especially in recent years. I personally thought this winter was far to short especially with the hideous summer we had last year. These persistently warm winters we have been getting in modern times is only exacerbating the progressively warming Gulf. So it’s probably going to be another summer of 110+ heat index’s every day again with most nights stuck in the 80s. I see overnight lows in the 90s in our near future probably by the 2030s. The northern states are becoming more appealing to me each year in this hot muggy swamp of hell.
Yep, I’m moving to the East Coast in 3 months. The heat is one of the main reasons. I’m in my 60s and it’s really starting to bother me. I’ve been in Houston for 33 years and it IS getting hotter.
Unfortunately, the property everywhere nicer to live is a lot more expensive.
Sad day today, was really hoping we would get at least one last super cold push before it started to swelter. Thanks for all you guys do!
So ready for the warm ready to come back!
Do you think it will freeze again this spring?