Originally published at: How windy did it get last night in Houston, and how cold will it get tonight? – Space City Weather
In brief: In today’s post we look at windy conditions over night, in which large chunks of the region saw gusts of 45 to 55 mph. This is leading to very chilly conditions this morning, and we’ll only warm up a little bit today. Temperatures tonight will get into the 30s for much of the area, but should remain above freezing.
Windy conditions
In the wake of Sunday evening’s cold front a river of winds in the atmosphere has, essentially, dipped down to ground level. This has brought very windy conditions across the region overnight. Much of the area has experienced gusts of 45 to 55 mph, with even higher ones along the coast. At 3:52 am this morning, for example, Galveston recorded sustained winds of 43 mph, and a gust of 58 mph. Those are tropical-storm force winds. Winds will die down slightly over the next few hours, but we will continue to see a very blustery day, with gusts of 30 to 35 mph possible until later this afternoon when things finally settle down for awhile.
Monday
Although cold temperatures trailed the wind, much colder air did begin to make serious progress into the region after midnight. Air temperatures this morning range from the low 40s north of Houston to upper 40s in the city, with slightly warmer conditions near the coast. But when you tack winds on, temperatures feel like they’re in the 30s across the area, so very chilly out there. Highs won’t climb much today despite the sunny skies. Most of us won’t get higher than the mid-50s this afternoon. So far the winds have had a negligible impact on power outages.
Houston rodeo weather
Although winds will fall off this afternoon and early evening, they’re not going away. We should still see some gusts in the 20 to 25 mph range before tonight’s show. Air temperatures before the show will be about 50 degrees, falling to the upper 40s afterward. So with the wind chill it will be quite brisk outside. Winds should finally die off by or before midnight tonight. Lows in Houston will bottom out at about 40 degrees in the urban core of Houston, with much of the outlying area falling into the mid- to upper-30s tonight.
Tuesday
This will be a sunny day with high temperatures in the low 60s. I feel pretty confident in saying this is likely to be Houston’s coldest daytime temperature until at least October, or possibly even November. So really, Monday and Tuesday are probably our last “winter-like” days in Houston until next winter. Winds will be almost entirely gone, but importantly they will subtly shift from the northeast to southeast, which will eventually bring us much warmer weather. Lows on Tuesday night should fall into the upper 40s in Houston.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Sunshine will prevail for the rest of the week as we see a warming trend from highs in the mid-70s on Wednesday to the mid-80s on Friday. Overnight lows will be in the 50s and 60s. Humidity comes back but it should not be oppressive.
Saturday and Sunday
The weekend looks sunny and hot, with highs in the mid- to upper-80s. Some inland locations might even flirt with 90 degrees—quite the turnaround from this morning. Rain chances are nil.
Next week
The first half of next week should see continued, rather hot weather for March. The pattern may change by the middle of next week (or not!) with an increase in rain chances and possibly a front. Although I must say this is far enough into the future that my overall confidence is rather low. But by then we’ll definitely be back in the “We could sure use some rain” camp.
