Houston may finally get significant relief in terms of rainfall, and cooler weather

A few readers may have heard some thunderstorms as a weak cool front moved down into the Houston region this morning. These storms are fairly isolated, and should move southward as the front pushes off the coast after sunrise, later this morning. This will bring a brief reprieve from Wednesday’s heat and humidity, but for truly fall-like conditions we’ll need to wait for a stronger front to arrive on Monday. This one should bring glorious weather, as well as a nice dose of much-needed rainfall with it.

Thursday

High temperatures today will reach about 90 degrees, and it will take some time for the drier air to work into the region following the frontal passage. With the front stalling near the coast, high resolution models are showing the potential for some additional showers and thunderstorms to fire up this afternoon and early evening over Houston. I expect them to be fairly scattered, however. As drier air moves in, expect lows tonight to drop into the 60s for Houston, and showers to end.

Friday

Don’t blink, otherwise you’re going to miss the front’s impact on our humidity. That’s because dewpoints are expected to only briefly bottom out on Friday morning before humidity levels start to rise again. Friday should see mostly sunny skies, with highs in the upper 80s and light winds turning southeast. As this more moist flow resumes, lows on Friday night should be a few degrees warmer than Thursday night.

Saturday

The first half of the weekend looks sunny and warm, with high temperatures near 90 degrees. Humidity will be back, in abundance. Enjoy your last day of full-on summer, you diehards.

Sunday

The atmosphere will start to become a bit more perturbed by Sunday, as a disturbance or two passes over the region, ahead of the next front. So while Sunday morning should be partly sunny and warm, there will be an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms later in the day, and overnight. Look for highs in the mid- to upper-80s depending on cloud cover and rainfall at your location.

Monday

Cold front day! A stronger front should move through Houston on Monday, and this will also support the best chance of rainfall. Much of the area should see 1 to 2 inches of rainfall through Monday night, but as usual some parts of Houston will get more, and others less. Highs on Monday may only reach the upper 70s, depending on the timing of the front, and how far away from the coast you live. Lows on Monday night will probably drop into the upper 50s for most areas away from the immediate coast, but again this depends on the timing of the front.

Next week

As for the rest of next week, well, it looks pretty freaking great. I’m expecting at least a few days with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s (for Houston) and 40s for areas further inland. Fall is here, baby, and it’s going to be spectacular.