Long-time Houston residents will know the month to really fear, in terms of heat, humidity, and drought—not to mention very strong hurricanes—is August. I’ll have more later this week on why August is this region’s hottest month, but for now just know that it is. August is a month to be survived in Houston, as we await the beginning of fall in late September. And this week will be a typical August in Houston.

Today

Upper-level high pressure will begin building over Houston today, but there’s a chance we may squeeze a few showers under the pressure later this afternoon when the sea breeze lights up. I don’t think coverage will be that great, and I expect showers that do develop to be short lived. Highs will be in the mid- to upper-90s.

Tuesday and Wednesday

With high pressure dominating we’ll see mostly sunny days with highs in the upper 90s. Some inland areas may flirt with 100 degrees. Lows in the upper 70s.

(Space City weather thanks Bellaire Dermatology, our sponsor for August.)

Thursday

Some moisture begins to return meaning there is a chance of isolated storms, mainly along the sea breeze. Still hot, though, with highs in the upper 90s.

Friday through Sunday

It appears as though precipitable water values will be on the rise, allowing for decent rain chances, probably in the 30 to 40 percent most days. This chance may increase, depending on how much moisture moves in, and obviously afternoon storms would hold down high temperatures. In any case, this weekend shouldn’t be nearly so hot as the mid-week.

Tropics

Matt and I spent some time talking about Invest 97L over the weekend, and by Sunday it became pretty clear this system was most likely going to follow a mostly westerly track through the Caribbean Sea, across the Yucatan Peninsula and into the Bay of Campeche.

The system, which is close to becoming a tropical depression, almost certainly does not pose a threat to Texas. However it’s a good reminder that by reaching August we’ve also arrived in the heart of hurricane season, and by all appearances this August looks to be fairly active.