Playoff Weather!

Who's ready for football?? The Texans are back in it, hosting the surging Kansas City Chiefs Saturday afternoon. Of course, weather won't be a factor, even for tailgaters. Friday night's rains are long gone and skies will slowly clear. Temperatures outside will be in the mid 50s.

It's a far cry from the weather at the other Wild Card venues, which are all played in outdoor stadiums. Later tonight, the other AFC contest kicks in Cincinnati as the Bengals host the Steelers in the rain. Wet weather there is due to the same low pressure system that swung across Houston Friday night. Temperatures will be dropping, but the game should be long over before the rain switches briefly to snow.

Touted as one of the coldest games ever, Sunday's matchup between the Seahawks and the Vikings will be played in sub-zero temperatures. If they're lucky, the mercury might get to -3, but likely hover between -4 and -7. At least the wind won't be too extreme - only -10 to -12. The Vikings are playing outside at the University of Minnesota stadium while their new climate-controlled dome is being built.

Over in the nation's capital for the final face-off of the weekend between the Redskins and Packers, the field could be damp. Rain is expected Saturday night, but should clear out well before kickoff. Temperatures will be cool, but not too cold in the low 50s at kickoff dropping to the mid 40s after half-time. There will also be a fairly steady breeze throughout.

Whenever people think of cold football, they normally conjure images of the 1967 Ice Bowl played on New Years Eve at Lambeau Field. That contest, between the Packers and Cowboys, crowned the NFL Champion in the last year before the Super Bowl. The iconic image of Bart Starr's quarterback sneak on a field which was basically a sheet of ice was played with a temperature of -13 and wind chill of -48.

A close argument for the coldest game ever could be made for the AFC Championship matchup at Riverfront stadium between the Bengals and San Diego Chargers. The -9 degree temperatures were accompanied by a whopping -59 wind chill. Yes, the Chargers are used to classic Southern California warmth, but that numbing cold was tough on both sides of the field. Somehow, the Bengals prevailed before losing to the 49ers in the Super Bowl, ironically played indoors in Detroit,

I love football this time of year and admittedly have been spoiled by living in cities where they play indoors. That's where I'll be, comfortable and cozy on my couch cheering on the Texans!

Will Holiday Weather Be A Turkey?

It's looking a little soggy for Southeast Texas toward the end of this week. That could mean wet weather for the annual Thanksgiving Day parade in downtown Houston and depending on where you're traveling in the Lone Star a new taste of winter.

A vigorous winter storm hitting the Pacific Northwest Tuesday will being to move through the Rockies and then take a dive into Texas by Wednesday. High pressure east of the Mississippi will force Gulf moisture inland as a cold front approaches. Along the collision line is where rain will develop in Texas along with stronger storms in Oklahoma:

The system then deepens by Black Friday with icy conditions for the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles:

Don't worry though, the cold air doesn't seep much further than west Texas. Whatever your travel plans, have a safe holiday!

Cooler Weather Behind The Storms

Fortunately, most of southeast Texas missed seeing the kind of storms that roared across the panhandle Monday night. In the wake of Tuesday's drenching rains that did move through the region, colder air is poised to move in. Shown above are the expected morning low temperatures, mainly in the upper 40s and low 50s.

High pressure moving in the next few days should help dry things up a bit but freezing cold temperatures are not expected. The core of that colder air stays north of the region. That means only about two crisp fall mornings before the next change moves in this weekend. Here is a look at Thursday morning's low temperatures:

Notice they're not that much colder. A new front Saturday may bring some spotty rain, but behind it - the chilliest weather so far this fall moves in. Look at the lows Sunday morning:

Probably too early to talk about freeze warnings, but if the cold air descends further south, it is possible. At the very least some frost advisories are possible. Right on time for the holidays!

Another Round of Storms On The Horizon

Southeast Texas is bracing for another round of possible flooding and severe storms early next week. Depicted above is the expected rainfall totals through Tuesday. Note the +3" amounts from east Texas into eastern Oklahoma. One way to always know when an imminent severe storm threat is looming is by subscribing to WeatherCall: try.weathercall.net/signupnow.

It's becoming an all-too familiar pattern which began the weekend before Halloween. This time, low pressure will emerge from southwest Texas and interact with a vigorous upper-level low pressure and cold front coming out of the Rockies. 

The surface low will be able to tap into abundant Gulf moisture while the upper-level low and front will provide sufficient lift and wind shear to allow strong, slow-moving and possibly severe thunderstorms to develop. Here is the depiction for late Monday:

Notice how the rain area expands by Tuesday:

This system doesn't move out until late Tuesday. Even this far out, the Storm Prediction Center is indicating that Southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana could have a risk for severe weather; first late Monday going into Tuesday morning:

And then from late Tuesday into early Wednesday:

This will definitely be a system to watch as it evolves, so stay aware and alert. 

Dry For Election Day

The memories of the Halloween storms may be fresh in the minds of some, but there are no weather worries for Election Day. Expect some early morning cloudiness, but by mid-morning, there should be a mix of sun and clouds. Southeast winds replace Monday's milder north breezes, bringing back the humidity as well. That increased moisture will interact with an approaching cool front that signals a return of now unwelcome rains.

Here is a depiction of conditions by Wednesday afternoon:

The last thing people in the Hill country want to see is more rain headed in their direction. However, that's what today's models are showing. Here is the depiction for Thursday afternoon:

The red splotches indicate the possibility of stronger storms stretching from the Austin/San Antonio area into Dallas and Tulsa. It's a little too early to tell how severe these storms could become, but its a situation that needs to be watched. Eventually, those rains move eastward into east Texas and Louisiana.

 

More Trick Than Treat For Halloween

Early morning tornadoes did some damage to parts of Texas. There are numerous reports coming out of the towns of Floresville (seen above) and D'Hanis, just outside San Antonio. A vigorous upper-level disturbance moving through the area is packing quite a punch, providing sufficient lift in a moist atmosphere spawning the storms. 

The threat is far from over for the rest of the day across south-central Texas. Shaded in yellow are areas that the Storm Prediction Center believes have the highest risk of seeing potentially more of this kind of weather through the day Friday:

Not only is the upper-low vigorous, but also slow-moving. It won't be until late Saturday night that the threat exits eastward. Here is the current threat risk for Saturday, mainly emphasizing extreme southeast Texas and southern Louisiana:

If things work out correctly, you may be able to salvage the heart of trick-or-treat time in Southeast Texas. However, it will be soggy for most of the day Saturday and there could be some spots dealing with high water. Remember, it was just last weekend that the remnants of former hurricane Patricia soaked some of the same areas. Here is a projection of where rain will fall for Saturday in Texas:

After its all over, some places could pick up anywhere from 2 to 6 inches as indicated by this forecast for rainfall totals:

Stay safe on the roads and especially with so many potentially headed out for holiday activities.

Sunshine Returns - But For How Long?

After days of rain, the Lone Star state will get a chance to dry out a bit. Depicted above is the forecast for clouds Wednesday. The white are the clouds and the dark areas, cloud-free, should be mostly sunny. 

The remnants of former hurricane Patricia will move into the eastern third of the U.S. A weak trough of upper-level low pressure behind the surface low Patricia has become will move across the central plains. However, with little moisture to work with, there won't be much in the way of cloud cover. 

The dry spell won't last too long as a new disturbance emerges from west Texas by early Friday. This one moves through fairly quickly, so while there won't be a repeat of the flooding brought on by Patricia, there will be significant rainfall. Here's a depiction of conditions by Friday evening:

Unfortunately, the rain may linger for the trick-or-treaters headed out Saturday.