The most remarkable weather phenomenon the first months of 2019 definitely is the memorable fog (we’re kind of ending this year that way, aren’t we?). I’m using Bush Airport for the stats in today’s blog, and a look at January through April 2019 shows 65 days with fog reported and, of those, 19 days had visibility of a quarter-mile or less.
February fog especially hampered the area with 20 of 28 days in the month starting like London with nine of them at low visibility! Fog like we muddled through requires warm temps and, true to form, our average temperatures were in the 50s. In fact, all year we never dropped into the 20s! We’ve had our lowest low of 30F in January, March, and November. But that’s it. And only one morning each month. It’s been a warm year.
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The month of May unloaded the rains, especially in Kingwood and Sugar Land with 10″ of precip from May 7th back-building thunderstorms (basically, relentless storms: as one collapses another builds from its energy). Here’s our graphic from then:
Another 3-4″ of rain across the area showed up June 5th and our July 4th fired off 1-2″. August stood out as our HOT month with a string of 101-103 degree days from August 8th through 14th.
And then came September. And Imelda. Upgraded to a tropical storm just as it came onshore, Imelda crawled along through Southeast Texas. Like our other heavy rainmakers, Allison and Harvey, we know what can happen when these monster moisture makers tap into the Gulf and slowly spin. Look at these numbers:
Numbers, of course, never tell the story that a picture tells:
October brought in our last substantial rains totaling almost 6″ during the month and you might recall the showers holding off just long enough to get the kid’s Trick-or-treating in on Halloween!
Since then, the rain has been hard to find. If nothing else, we’ve had stellar weather for Thanksgiving, Dickens on the Strand, Holiday Shopping, festivities and celebrations. One dry front after another just in time for wonderful weekends.
Speaking of which, a weekend front tomorrow promises a few showers Saturday night and then the New Year will begin on the soggy side, but we need the rain. And with the new normal ‘warmer’ atmosphere, I predict the fog will continue right into 2020. So get those low beams ready.
But we’ve made it with our crazy Houston weather another year. I’ve now gotten 30 crazy years of Houston weather forecasting under my belt and am proud to keep going with you into another decade!
Have a safe and healthy New Year!
Frank