Houston heat index to approach 105 as power restoration continues

How are we holding up, Houston?

It’s been a tough 48 hours — with many of us going on for about as many hours without power — following Beryl’s rampage through Greater Houston. The Southeast Texas heat has us all feeling a little on edge, as many are dealing with daunting repairs, rotting food from warm refrigerators and aching arms from flapping fans.

Let’s collectively take a deep breath, exhale and get into the forecast: Wednesday will be another hot day.

Forecast highs Wednesday are not going to be record-breaking. They aren’t even going to be record-tying. Forecast highs of 92 to 95 degrees would be just another day in July for Houston ordinarily.

But with more than a million utility customers still without power, it’s a potentially dangerous day of heat. Heat index values, the humidity-driven approximations of air temperatures, will top out between 100 and 105 degrees in most of Southeast Texas.

The National Weather Service office for Houston and Galveston has already issued a heat advisory for Wednesday to raise awareness about the need to practice heat safety.

With it being July in Houston, daily high temperatures will generally land in the 92 to 94 degree range through the weekend. Additional heat alert days are expected as so many suffer through this heat without power.

If you are lucky enough to have air conditioning, consider inviting friends or family who you know are still without power to come over for a chance to cool off. Sharing is caring, especially in July when air conditioning is a “hot” commodity.

This week’s heat may come with a few stray showers or storms.

Thursday’s storm potential is a bit higher as a moisture-rich air mass gets pulled into the region from the Gulf of Mexico. For Houston, rain chances Thursday will peak between 30% and 50%, with slightly higher rain potential toward the coast.

The resulting showers won’t be enough to significantly slow down power restoration efforts or post-Beryl recovery tasks, but they may be enough to take the edge off the heat a bit. Consider it a welcome relief if it happens in your neighborhood.

Even more storms may bubble up Friday into Saturday.

An influx of moisture is expected to arrive late this week and into the weekend.

The result will be rain chances around 40% to 60% in the Houston metro area through Saturday. Downpours could result in a quick half-inch to an inch of rain, with locally higher amounts in heavier storms. Scattered storms will help keep temperatures in check for the most part, with daytime highs of between 90 and 93 degrees, which is pretty typical for this time of year.

If your weekend plans are to continue the post-Beryl cleanup process, just be aware that you may need to quickly move inside if you hear thunder and storms do move overhead.