Summer front brings a big humidity drop for Wednesday

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — While our streak of triple-digit days continues, there’s at least a big drop in humidity on the way! August’s version of a cool front has pushed through Houston and is sitting near the coast.

Now before you get too excited, we are still predicting highs in the 100s all week long, but for about a day, it will feel more like an oven than a sauna. The best time to take advantage of the low humidity will be in the morning, when temps are in the upper 70s for most. By the afternoon we’re right back to 100+ degrees.

The flip side to the drier air is that it does bring an increased risk of fire danger, especially when combined with the extremely dry ground we are all dealing with. A fire weather watch has been issued today from noon through 9pm for all but our coastal counties.

How close are we getting to the August 2011 record of 24 consecutive triple-digit days?

It’s going to be really close. We are now at 17 days in a row of 100-degree heat, and we are predicting to tack on 7 more, which would get us to 23 straight days. We are cautiously optimistic that a tropical wave next week could bring us widespread clouds and rain and keep our temperatures below 100 for a day or two starting on Tuesday, August 22nd.

A tropical wave with rain?! Tell me more!

Again, we don’t want to get hopes too high at this time, but we have sprinkled in 20% and 30% rain chances for next Monday through Thursday pending the exact path this wave takes. We are still trying to get a handle on if it tracks more toward us or more toward South Texas. If it tracks toward us, our rain chances will go much higher. If it tracks more toward South Texas, then the 20% and 30% chances are the best we can do…if even that.

Could this tropical wave develop into a named storm?

That is possible given the projected wind patterns of lower shear over the Gulf next week. It’s only a small chance at this time, but we will be watching things very carefully since we are approaching the peak of hurricane season.

What else are you monitoring in the tropics right now?

The Atlantic is definitely starting to awaken. There are now two tropical waves with a low chance for development over the central and eastern Atlantic. For a full overview of what’s happening in the tropics, head to our Tropical Update page.