Sunlight awaits Houston at the end of a dreary tunnel

[WeatherBot]

Originally published at: Sunlight awaits Houston at the end of a dreary tunnel – Space City Weather

In brief: Those gray skies are running out of time, Houston. We expect showers or light rain at times today with brightening skies on Saturday. The sun should return in all its glory on Sunday, with warmer temps, followed by a brief cooldown early next week. We return to 70 or so by mid to late next week.

Sorry for the delayed post this morning; I had a donuts morning with one of my kids, and while I love our audience, I also love donuts. Because, warm Shipley donuts. So, apologies, but surely you’ll understand.

It’s been a bit of dreary week, starting off on a cold, damp note, followed by a chilly Tuesday, a graying Wednesday, a damp Thursday, and now a cold, damp Friday. Thankfully, if you need a dose of sun in your life, you’ll be getting one soon.

Today

Dreary is the operative word. Though, I will say I saw blue sky poking through the overcast earlier. I’m not optimistic today though. Look for occasional light rain, drizzle, or passing showers in most of the area. Coastal areas today may see a steadier rain at times. Temps don’t budge a whole lot. We’re starting in the 40s and perhaps we’ll push 50 degrees in spots, especially south of Houston this afternoon. Generally, rain totals will be a tenth of an inch or less in most spots.

Saturday

Showers may linger through the overnight hours and into early Saturday morning. Most of the rain will end. We should see some brightening skies Saturday afternoon as well. If we get sunshine, we may push into the mid-60s. If we stay cloudy, we’ll maybe sneak above 60 degrees or so.

Sunday

We finally unstick this pattern Sunday. I would expect decreasing clouds, increasing sunshine, highs a bit warmer, in the upper-60s to low-70s (after morning lows in the 40s and 50s), and just an overall nicer day. Winds could become a bit gusty at times later Sunday or Sunday evening as a reinforcing dry cold front pushes in.

Monday & Tuesday

Back to cooler weather but with sunshine!

Morning lows will be in the 40s on Monday and 30s and 40s on Tuesday, followed by highs in the 50s to near 60 Monday and perhaps a bit warmer Tuesday.

Later next week

A warmer pattern establishes after Tuesday, with highs probably in the 70s on Wednesday and staying around 70 or so through next weekend.

Morning lows should creep back into the 50s and eventually the 60s. I would not be shocked to see some sea fog emerge at some point by next weekend. At this point, rain chances are mostly absent after this weekend, with the next hint in models holding off until at least next Sunday or Monday. Milder weather is probably going to linger a bit longer with the brunt of any cold directed into the Eastern U.S. over the next 10 days or so. We’ll see if that can change late in the week of the 15th.

[Joseph]

Great post but he never explained what the sun or sunshine is. And I most definitely understand the donut situation. Donuts are some of the best inventions on Earth, especially Shipley’s. I and most police officers can concur.

[Blackhawks_Fan]

I’m not complaining about this week at all. During July, August, and September I was dreaming about weather like this. And given where I grew up, I’m used to not seeing the sun for weeks at a time during winter (thanks to the lake effect from the Great Lakes).

[Matt]

Having lived 5 winters in Upstate Central NY, I know bleak when I see it, and while this doesn’t pass the smell test for me personally, I know people down here have very, very mixed feelings haha. To me, it provides a certain familiarity that reminds me of the time of year it’s supposed to be. But it’s hard to do this for more than a few days at these latitudes!

[Glenn]

If it feels cold, it has been. This is the 4th coldest start to December in the last 50 years…

[Joseph]

I would love to experience a northern winter someday. However, I don’t think I would enjoy driving through the snow and ice all the time.

[richbeat]

@Joseph Growing up in southwest Virginia I used to drive in snow. I don’t know how I would do now since it’s been 45 years since. Once you get the hang of it, it’s not too bad but it can be a bit tricky. In the fall we would have to switch our tires out from regular tires to snow tires. A bit later on there was all weather tires and you could just leave those tires on. Some people put chains on their tires for added traction. Another trick was to put two or three cinderblocks in the trunk of the car for added traction. As long as the temperature stayed below freezing it wasn’t too bad. That area of the country is hilly and mountainous so one challenge driving up a hill was to keep moving steady at a fast enough, but not too fast speed to get over it. Drive at a slower speed and when you approach an intersection or a traffic signal try to time it to where you don’t come to a complete stop before the signal turns green and, of course, watch the other drivers. That’s the part you can’t control, especially if another car starts sliding. What I would not drive in under any circumstances was ice or black ice.

[Joseph]

Wow that’s crazy. I knew about the chain around the tire method, but I didn’t know about all that other stuff. It seems like a huge hassle. Black ice seems like it would be the most dangerous. I had a close encounter with black ice a few years ago during one of our Arctic cold snaps on a bridge. It was frightening for sure. I also slipped on a frozen spot on our driveway because you could not tell it was frozen. It just looked like a regular wet spot. And yes, the other drivers would definitely be what I am the most worried about.

[NugBump]

I’ll never get weather reporters, they’re perpetually pining for whatever we don’t have.

Two sunny days, “We’re desperately yearning for rain.”
First raindrop falls, “Can’t wait for that sunshine to return!”
Hits 82°F, “Looking forward to cooler days ahead.”
Drops to 64°F: “Warmer weather is just around the corner..finally!”

They’re never happy with now. Always longing for whatever’s happening to change.

[Joseph]

I think it is a tale older than time that most people are never happy with the weather. I personally can never get enough of cold weather and thunderstorms. That is the two types of weather I am always down for. Although I think even I would like a warm, sunny, and dry day here and there.