Apart from some chilly weather in the northern regions, we’re enjoying a relatively quiet week across the U.S. weather-wise and from coast to coast just about everyone I’ve asked has said they’re enjoying a break from the extremes. Whatever the reason – and I chalk it up to rampantly improved technology and a 24-hour news [...]
The buzz in my neighborhood, now that the Halloween candy stockpiles have lost their sparkle, is the coming winter weather. Houston is full of people just like me who are northern transplants down here who miss the snow and the cold, but are happy that — for the most part — a winter on the Gulf Coast is tame and fairly mild. Still, the possibility of snow sets this town in an uproar almost as much as the possibility of the Texans going to the Super Bowl. Could it be possible, because of last weekend’s early and record-breaking snowfall, North America has been primed for an unusually cold and snowy winter?
Tropical Disturbance 50 is now about 655 miles southeast of Miami. It’s a new storm so data is limited at this time. It’s drifting northwest and its maximum sustained winds are 20 mph. That doesn’t sound like much, but there is some strengthening likely as we head into early next week. Strengthening, that is, to tropical storm force — not hurricane force. In other words, the perfect type of storm needed in Texas to begin chipping away at the 30+ inch rainfall deficit for places like Houston and Austin.
It was a long, hot summer here in Texas and I couldn’t be happier about the cooler weather finally settling in over the area. Technically, it’s not exactly cool weather per-se, but when temperatures go from being 10 degrees above average to about average for this time of year (in the mid 80’s for highs) [...]
As I’ve often noted here, I’m not a meteorologist but I do have the relatively unique honor of working with a large collection of the world’s best forecasters seven days a week. What’s most fun about it is when the group as a whole is directly and personally impacted by a severe weather event. Because [...]
The endless summer — 2011. It’s been a wild ride with earthquakes, floods, wildfires, drought and heat. It may be that despite all the weather features that grabbed the headlines this past summer, it will be the heat that is remembered for generations to come. And the drought. (Not to mention the dreadful spring season [...]
The out-of-control forest fires are close enough to Houston that we can smell the smoke (Bastrop State Park in the photo below is about 110 miles northwest of Houston). In Magnolia, a nearby and popular escape from urban Houston, thousands of acres have been consumed by fire. In the state’s capital, wildfires have forced thousands [...]
From day to day throughout this now-historic south-central U.S. drought, the life and lifestyle of the average city-dweller hasn’t changed that much. Certainly it’s more difficult for lower-income households that don’t have air-conditioning and I’m glad I no longer labor outside for a paycheck. But for most of us, we still go about our everyday [...]
This has been the hottest, driest summer in Houston since I’ve lived in Texas. Most of the state is in an exceptional drought, which is the most severe level. Not only are we dealing with the lack of rainfall but also the heat. Yes, summers are always hot in Texas but this year’s a little [...]
Though it seems quiet, the ImpactWeather TropicsWatch team is keeping a watchful eye on four active disturbances and one suspect area on Africa’s West Coast. Additionally, areas like the eastern Caribbean, the western Tropical Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico are climatological hot spots for development, while the peak of hurricane season (September 10th) draws closer every day.