Overall, the upper Texas coast just experienced its warmest July day in nearly 150 years of records

Sunday’s heat was extreme for the greater Houston area. College Station, for example, set a daily record for July 10 by reaching 111 degrees. This was also its second hottest day on record, in any month, ever. In Houston, four of the first 10 days of July have now recorded 100-degree days. Sunday’s mark of 105 degrees tied the record for the hottest degree for any day in July. Anyway, here are the maximum temperature records set or tied on Sunday:

City of Houston: 105 degrees (101, set in 1998)
Houston Hobby: 104 degrees (100, set in 1964)
Galveston: 96 degrees (96, set in 1931)
College Station: 111 degrees (109, set in 1917)

It is worth noting that all of these locations also set or tied minimum temperature records on Sunday. For example, the low temperature in Houston never fell below 82 degrees. So overall you just experienced the warmest July day in nearly 150 years of records along the upper Texas coast.

Congratulations, or something.

I realize that some readers get twitchy when we write about about climate change. This is a weather site, not a climate site, and that’s our focus. But here’s the reality. Houston experienced an extremely hot and dry summer in 2011, just 11 years ago. At the time, it seemed historic. Also, as someone who lived through it, I can attest that it was miserable. But now 2022 may be on course to match or exceed it, at least in terms of heat. This is not normal. People can have reasonable debates about the precise causes of this excess heat, and what to do about it. But Sunday’s weather was atrocious, and not a future I particularly want to leave to my children.

Monday

The heat continues, albeit with slightly less burn, today. The National Weather Service has kept an “excessive heat warning” in place for the region’s far western counties, including the College Station and Brenham areas, where highs are likely to reach at least 105 degrees again today. Houston should also see highs of around 100 degrees, or perhaps a touch higher. Like on Sunday, some relief may come from scattered thunderstorms that will start out north of the region and then move through during the afternoon. While the rain is most assuredly welcome, these storms could bring some briefly strong winds. Otherwise winds will be light, out of the southwest at 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday

The intense high pressure system that baked our region over the weekend will finally begin to back off to the west, and that will start to provide some slight relief, likely keeping highs in the Houston metro area just below 100 degrees. Rain chances will likely be around 20 percent.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday

These will, finally, feel more like typical mid-July days in Houston. We can probably expect highs roughly in the mid-90s, but there will also be some clouds to go along with 30 to 40 percent rain chances each day. Hopefully our parched trees and lawns see some welcome rain during this period.

The weekend and the Gulf blob

Careful observers of the National Hurricane Center will note that they are now predicting a 30 percent chance of a tropical system forming in the northern Gulf of Mexico during the next five days. Essentially, a cool front is moving down into the northeastern Gulf from Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. This, this system will then drift westward across the northern Gulf of Mexico and may impact our weather this weekend.

There are a lot of unknowns here, including whether the system will significantly intensify (probably not) and how far west it will come. If it moves all the way to Texas it could bring us some significant rainfall this weekend, but if it moves into Louisiana we’re going to remain hot and dry. For now I’d guess the weekend will continue to see hot and mostly sunny weather, but the forecast comes with an asterisk at this point.

A message from our sponsor

We’re including some tips we shared from Reliant over the weekend that can help manage energy usage, regardless of your electricity provider:

• Follow the 4×4 principle. Set your thermostat four degrees higher when you’re away from home for more than four hours to save on energy usage and costs.
• Rotate your ceiling fan counterclockwise for a wind chill effect. This can make the temperature in a room feel up to 4 degrees cooler allowing you to be more comfortable and adjust your thermostat to save money. Don’t forget to turn off your fan when leaving the room.
• Use blinds or curtains to reduce solar heat gain by up to 50 percent. Direct sunlight can increase the demand on your AC by as much as 30 percent.
• Beat the Heat Centers are located across Houston to provide a safe place for seniors and other vulnerable neighbors to cool off, allowing them to decrease their energy usage at home. To see a full list visit reliant.com/beattheheat.