HOUSTON – Does it feel like May has been unusually hot in Houston? If your answer is “yes," you’re right.
The month will end with more 90-degree days than any other May on record in Houston. By Thursday, the last day of the month, there will have been 20 days of high temperatures at 90 degrees or above. That will beat the old record of 18 days set in 2003.
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According to the National Weather Service, when 2018 is included, there have been six years on record in Houston with at least 17 days above 90 degrees.
Interestingly, while this year sets a record for the number of 90-degree May days, 2018 will not go into the record books as the warmest May. That distinction goes to 1996. Second place is 2003 and 2018 will finish in third.
The reason for the apparent discrepancy is that the overall warmth of a month is calculated using an average daily temperature (i.e., over a whole 24-hour period) instead of calculating it from just the high temperature for each day. Based on average daily temperatures, then, 1996 comes in at 81.4 degrees, 2003 stands at 80.7 degrees and 2018 will finish closer to 80 degrees.
The bottom line is that the summer season of 2018 is starting out hot. It certainly feels that way, and the data backs up the suspicion.
The prevailing weather pattern in May is reminiscent of the pattern southeast Texas was stuck in during 2011. That was when Houston experienced the hottest summer on record and a catastrophic drought overtook Texas.
It is premature to predict the same outcome for 2018, but the similarities are worth noting and the weather is certainly worth watching as the summer unfolds.