Cooler weather for Houston by Sunday morning, as we assess recent rain impacts on drought

Space City Weather
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Originally published at: Cooler weather for Houston by Sunday morning, as we assess recent rain impacts on drought – Space City Weather

In brief: Today, we look at how drought has changed in the Houston area since last weekend’s rain (it hasn’t). We also take stock of our weekend cold front and look out in time at rain chances over the next 10 days, which are generally absent.

Did this past weekend’s rain help with drought?

No. Technically, it did not. Drought coverage remained unmoved over the last week, with about 95 percent of the area in some sort of drought and over 75 percent in severe drought.

Keep in mind that “drought” itself carries a number of varying definitions. The drought monitor maps like above capture the bulk of the story but not all of the story. Sure, did this past weekend’s rain help matters? Absolutely. But when you’re talking about longer term issues with things like agriculture or water supply or things like that, the story can vary over time and space. Either way, we need more rain. And we’re not gonna get it for a bit.

Today & Saturday

Other than areas of dense fog this morning, perhaps lingering into the afternoon near Galveston, things look pretty quiet today and tomorrow. Expect highs near 80 inland and 70s nearer the coast. Outside of low clouds and fog in the morning, look for hazy conditions with clouds and sun. A few drips or drops are possible with a shower or two in area. Cedar pollen remains high, so you may be sneezy.

A cold front is going to advance through the area on Saturday evening, wiping out the haze and fog. It will also wipe out the warmth and humidity. Look for gusty winds Saturday evening, with gusts up to 30 mph inland for a short time and gusts up to 35 mph or so on the Island. The front itself should have little to no fanfare, as it will be mostly a dry front.

Sunday

Temperatures will drop off Saturday night, bottoming out in the 40s over much of the area by Sunday morning.

The breeze should remain all day but it will lower in intensity somewhat. We should see a return to sunshine, dry air, cool air, and low humidity. Look for highs in the 60s on Sunday.

Early next week

The early week will be “post-frontal pleasant” with lows in the 30s and 40s and highs in the 60s, perhaps near 70 by Tuesday. Skies should be sunny.

Later next week

It’s possible that another weak front passes through the area on Wednesday or Thursday, which could usher in another round of gusty winds and lower humidity. Before that, highs will peak back near 80 degrees or so.

Unfortunately, our rain chances over the next 10 days are minimal. Enjoy the generally nice weather, but let’s hope for rain again sooner than later.

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The low of 70° at Bush Airport yesterday breaks the old daily record warm low of 69° last reached in 2018. Hobby Airport’s low was 69°, breaking the old record of 68° set in 2017.

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Believe it or not, on this day in 1986, Houston reached 91 degrees, which was the earliest 90 degree day in Houston and the hottest February temperature ever recorded in the city as well. That was due to a hot and dry airmass filtering in from west Texas.

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I remember the year, 1986, but not the specific day, February 20th. On January 28th of that year was the space shuttle Challenger disaster. That day, if I remember correctly was Spring-like In Houston.

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January 28th, 1986 was a chilly morning in Houston with a low of 33 but the high warmed up to 72 that afternoon likely under clear sunny skies, which have felt very warm compared to the cold morning. It was a high of 79 the next day.

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The air was also very dry to start the day with dew points near 20. However, both Bush and Hobby Airports recorded a strong south to southwest breeze that day sustained near 20 mph with gusts to near 30 mph. Dew points rose into the 50s by the evening hours along with increasing cloud cover.

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I was in 2nd grade and I don’t remember the weather—but I remember the Challenger disaster, obliquely. We did not watch the launch in school, and there were no TVs wheeled into classrooms and no auditorium assembly. It was a normal day. But I remember at one point the assistant principal came into the room and took our teacher aside and talked quietly to her, and she left the room crying. The assistant principal then sat down at the teacher’s desk and told us to read our science textbooks—we were learning about bituminous coal. That sticks out in my mind. After a while, a substitute teacher came in, the vice principal left, and we had the rest of our school day.

Much much later, I found out that our teacher was friends with Christa McAuliffe, and the vice principal had come in to tell her that the shuttle had exploded and McAuliffe had been killed, along with the rest of the crew. At the time, all I knew was Mrs. Casper had to go home because she wasn’t feeling good, but she came back the next day and everything was fine. I wasn’t old enough to really understand what had happened with Challenger or what it meant.

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I figured that probably happened being how the lows were in the 50s on the 29th.

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