Wildfire smoke keeps our sky hazy but rain could wash it away this weekend

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Our sky turned hazy gray Monday as a cloud of wildfire smoke from New Mexico blew overhead, and more smoke from those wildfires will be present on Tuesday.

Temperatures will start off near 70 around sunrise then warm back into the low 90s during the afternoon. The record high Tuesday of 96 looks to be safe, but it will remain unusually hot for the time of year.

You’ll probably notice the sky looking hazy gray again from New Mexico wildfire smoke. Most of the smoke particles are suspended about 10,000 feet above the ground, so it shouldn’t make much of an impact on our local air quality.

When is our next chance for rain?
Most of us will have to wait until the weekend, but our confidence is growing that a front will deliver us needed rainfall. A late day thunderstorm is possible as early as Friday, but most of us will have to until a front arrives late Saturday. This front could produce widely scattered showers and thunderstorms, some of which could be strong. While we only have a 30% chance of rain in the forecast for now, as our confidence grows in this pattern we will likely be increasing rain chances for Saturday. A few showers will be possible after the front Sunday through Tuesday.

What else can we expect for the weekend?
Ahead of the front it will remain hot and sticky on Saturday. You can expect a near record-warm morning with lows just below 80-degrees. Temperatures will climb to near 90 as the front blows in. On Sunday we should feel the impact of rain-cooled air with a low close to 70 and a high in the mid-to-upper 80s. Plentiful clouds are expected both days. We will also be monitoring a Saharan dust cloud that could reach us as early as Sunday. You can find more information on the dust cloud and get a full tropical update at abc13.com/tropicalupdate.