It has been quite some time since I have written a blog. I do apologize for that. My new job has been keeping me fairly busy as of late. I do have some time now and want to talk about a few things going on in Texas as we get closer to the weekend. The first thing that I am keeping an eye on is the tropics. There is a disturbance in the Gulf that has a 90% chance of developing into a Tropical Depression, or Tropical Storm in the next few days. It's fairly disorganized, so development into a strong storm is not looking likely. Even with that said, it will bring heavy rain to portions of the United States Gulf Coast this weekend.
Looking at just two models, this tropical system is being forecast to miss Texas. The good news is that the Texas Gulf coast will not see flooding issues. The bad news is that it will remain hot and muggy. The rain from the storm would be able to cool the air down. But those near Houston will have to wait until early next week to potentially see some cooling rain. Both computer models in the photos above are keeping the low pressure system (tropical low) well east of Texas. This will bring heavy rain and wind to the lower Mississippi River valley Friday night and into Saturday. The storm will then keep pushing northeast by Sunday and Monday.
Now we're on to the heat. It's not summer yet, but Texans have already been feeling this dreaded hot air. Several record highs were broken last weekend; like in Lubbock, where they made it to 108°! The top left picture above is the temperature forecast for Friday afternoon. There will be widespread mid 90° readings all over Texas. Some parts of the southern Permian Basin and far West Texas will make a run at 100° Friday. Humidity will be a big issue for the Hill Country, North Texas, Brazos Valley, Gulf Coast and South Texas. It will feel like 101°-108° in those locations. Try to limit your time outdoors and remember to stay hydrated.
The top right picture and bottom picture above is the forecast for Saturday afternoon. It looks like more heat is in the forecast for parts of West and far West Texas Saturday afternoon. Highs there will get over 100° for many locations. The air will be dry, so there is no hope for some nice rain fall. The rest of the state is forecast to see higher temperatures on Saturday, then what we will see Friday. So Laredo, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Bryan/College Station, Waco, DFW and Tyler will see highs in the mid 90s Saturday afternoon and it will feel more like 105° during peak heating thanks to the humidity.
Stay safe over the weekend and remember to conserve energy. We really need to make sure the power grid doesn't get overused. We don't need people without power for days in this heat and humidity. That will be really bad news. So be smart and take it easy over the weekend and into next week.
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