Summary: Cooler weather is in sight as we head later into the weekend. Before that, it will be warm to hot and humid, and there will likely be heavy rain and strong storms north and northwest of Houston on Saturday evening. If you’re traveling north and west toward Austin, Waco, or Dallas Saturday afternoon or evening, use caution.
Today
We hit 88 degrees yesterday in what felt like an early summer preview. Expect more of the same today, though we could shave a couple degrees off yesterday’s temperatures with more clouds possible. An isolated shower or storm is possible, much like we saw yesterday across the area. This would be most likely in the afternoon hours.
Saturday into Sunday
The forecast gets more interesting here. As of now, Saturday morning looks warm, humid, but otherwise fine. An isolated shower or storm is possible from late morning into early afternoon. By mid to late afternoon, storm coverage should increase. Here’s how we expect it to go right now.
Storms could develop in the Houston area, along and north or west of US-59/I-69 after 2 to 3 PM. I suspect those storms will lift north and west a bit and eventually line up robustly between about College Station and Huntsville. There is some signal within the models of training storms up that way, so rain could continue to repetitively cycle over the same areas a bit. Eventually, as the front plows south and east, all of those storms will come with it. That should sweep back through the Greater Houston area between midnight and 5 AM or so. It will continue to progress east and out of our area on Sunday.
How much rain? I think we’re going to see a lot of variability, truthfully. From Houston south and east, probably a half-inch or less, unless the overnight storms pack more punch than we currently expect. Within Houston and the immediate suburbs north and west (Katy through Cypress and The Woodlands), we will probably see anywhere from a quarter-inch to an inch or more in an isolated spot or two. Farther north and west, along a line from about La Grange through College Station through Huntsville, rain totals will likely average 1 to 3 inches, and I would not be the least bit shocked to see someone end up with 5 inches or even a little more out of this. Flash flooding is a definite possibility up that way, and if you’re traveling between Houston and Dallas, Waco, or Austin tomorrow afternoon or evening, just be aware of this potential.
On Sunday afternoon, things should clear out, and the humidity will take a plunge.
Saturday’s highs will again be in the 80s, with morning lows in the 70s. Temperatures should drop into the 60s with the storms Sunday morning before recovering back to near 70 degrees in the afternoon. It will be noticeably cooler and breezy.
Next week
Monday looks absolutely spectacular for late April. Expect lows in the 50s (or even a handful of 40s!), highs in the low to mid-70s, and plentiful sunshine.
Tuesday should be similar humidity-wise but a touch warmer with lows near 60 and highs around 80 or a little hotter. The weather pattern may get a bit more unsettled for late week. Along with very warm highs well into the 80s to perhaps near 90 later next week, each day will have a slight chance of showers or thunderstorms. Details are still TBD. I don’t want to speculate a ton on next weekend yet, with plenty of big athletic events on tap. I don’t think the MS 150 riders will be enduring much of a headwind, but the rest of the forecast is up in the air. More to come.