Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Houston/Galveston, TX

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078 FXUS64 KHGX 181742 AFDHGX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX 1242 PM CDT Sat May 18 2024 ...New AVIATION... .SHORT TERM... (Today through Sunday Night) Issued at 319 AM CDT Sat May 18 2024 As you can imagine...our soils are fairly saturated given the multiple rounds of rainfall we`ve seen recently. Surface high pressure building in early this morning has allowed wind speeds to become calm. Couple that with skies becoming mostly clear in some spots allowing for temperatures to fall closer to the dew points in the upper 60s, and we have fairly favorable conditions for widespread fog development. Some of this fog may be dense at times and it is expected to last till around 9am Saturday morning, so be sure to exercise the proper precautions if you have plans to hit the roadways. A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect for portions of Southeast Texas till 10am CDT this morning. Once the fog burns off, our attention then turns to the upcoming period of above normal temperatures. As an upper level trough exits to our east, upper level ridging begins to build in on late Saturday and marks the beginning of an extended period of hot and dry conditions. Drier air remains in place over the weekend though and that`ll be coupled with not much of a breeze throughout the weekend due to a weak pressure gradient. 850mb temperatures will remain well into the 90th percentile through the weekend, so expect high temperatures mainly in the low 90s for Saturday and Sunday. Surface high pressure does shift eastward late Saturday allowing for light onshore flow to return. That`s going to be more important going into next week with the bump up in humidity leading to more widespread heat index values in the triple digits. Heat index values over the weekend will mainly be in the upper 90s, but some spots will be close to feeling like 100F. Overnight temperatures will mainly be in the low 70s (and fairly muggy with maximum RH values greater than 95%). Speaking of that, model trends are pointing towards another night of patchy on Saturday night especially for locations along and west of I-45. As of early Saturday morning, there are still 500,000+ of you without power around Southeast Texas (mainly Harris, Montgomery, and Waller Counties) from Thursday`s storms. Unfortunately, due to the damage to power/transmission lines this could extend for multiple days/weeks. Today marks the beginning of an extended period of hot and dry conditions, so it is going to be important to have a way to stay cool. Be sure to check in on your family/friends/neighbors, especially those that are vulnerable, to be sure that they have ways to stay cool as well. Some cooling centers have been opened around the Houston area to offer relief to those without power, so be sure to find the closest one to you. Know the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, especially as the cleanup process continues. If you are using a generator, PLEASE be sure to operate it outdoors in a well-ventilated area. A couple of tips for keeping your home cooler during the daytime: keep your windows and doors closed to prevent outdoor air from coming in and use blinds/curtains to keep the sunlight from entering. We hope that the power outages are resolved quickly for all of you. Stay safe, y`all. Batiste && .LONG TERM... (Monday through Friday) Issued at 319 AM CDT Sat May 18 2024 Little change has been made to the long term period. Heat will be the main weather story throughout this period as upper level ridging builds into the state from the south and southwest. For inland locations...we`ll start with highs in an upper 80s to low 90s range on Monday followed by a couple days (Tuesday/Wednesday) with highs in the low 90s. We`ll shave a couple degrees off the highs on Thursday as the ridge sags southward just a bit and allows for a disturbance/weakness to move eastward across the state and possibly provide areas generally near and especially to the north of I-10 with some shower/thunderstorm chances. The disturbance exits off to the east at the end of the week and allows those high temperatures to warm back up into a low to mid 90s range. As for lows, enjoy Monday morning while you can (readings in the upper 60s to lower 70s) because the rest of the week will be in the low to mid 70s. Heat index values throughout this forecast period will be in a 95 to 105 range, and all safety precautions should be taken. As of now, next Saturday looks like it could become our first Heat Advisory day of 2024, but do not wait until an Advisory is issued to exercise safety. 42 && .AVIATION...
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(18Z TAF Issuance) Issued at 1239 PM CDT Sat May 18 2024 All sites have returned to VFR with VFR prevailing through the rest of the day. Winds will remain light through the period. Patchy fog with MVFR VSBYs possible overnight into early morning hours Sunday. CIGs overnight into Sunday morning will lower to MVFR and potentially IFR levels. VFR conditions will return by mid to late morning Sunday.
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&& .MARINE... Issued at 319 AM CDT Sat May 18 2024 Winds will shift back around to the east and south over the weekend. Any lingering showers or storms will taper off early this morning. Gradually strengthening south to southeast winds and rising seas can be expected during the upcoming week. Caution flags might be needed. 42 && .HYDROLOGY... Issued at 319 AM CDT Sat May 18 2024 Minor to major river flooding continues for parts of Southeast Texas, particularly along portions of the Trinity, Brazos, and San Jacinto rivers. The following river points are either currently in flood stage or are forecast to reach flood stage (as of early Saturday morning): MAJOR// ------- - Trinity River (Liberty): Major Flood Stage - Trinity River (Goodrich): Major Flood Stage - Menard Creek (Rye): Major Flood Stage MODERATE// ---------- - Trinity River (Riverside): Moderate Flood Stage - Trinity River (Moss Bluff): Moderate Flood Stage - East Fork San Jacinto (New Caney): Moderate Flood Stage (forecast) - East Fork San Jacinto (Cleveland): Moderate Flood Stage (forecast) MINOR// ------- - Trinity River (Crockett): Minor Flood Stage - Navasota River (Normangee): Minor Flood Stage - Brazos River (Rosharon): Minor Flood Stage - Bedias Creek (Madisonville): Minor Flood Stage - Trinity River (Romayor): Minor Flood Stage - Peach Creek (Splendora): Minor Flood Stage - Caney Creek (Splendora): Minor Flood Stage - Lake Creek (Sendera Ranch Rd.): Minor Flood Stage (forecast) - Brazos River (Richmond): Minor Flood Stage (forecast) - Brazos River (Sugar Land): Minor Flood Stage (forecast) Remember to heed any instructions from your local officials and to never travel through ANY flooded areas or roadways. TURN AROUND, DON`T DROWN. Please monitor updated forecasts via the NWS AHPS website and/or the new NWS NWPS webpage (https://water.noaa.gov/) as the river flood threat persists. Batiste && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... College Station (CLL) 89 70 90 70 / 0 0 0 0 Houston (IAH) 90 71 91 73 / 0 0 0 0 Galveston (GLS) 83 76 84 76 / 10 0 0 0 && .HGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
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TX...None. GM...None.
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&& $$ SHORT TERM...Batiste LONG TERM....42 AVIATION...Adams MARINE...42