Tag Archives: National Weather Service

The Panhandle wildfires

Scary stuff. A blanket of snow and rain that descended over the Texas Panhandle on Thursday helped firefighters to quell the spread of the largest wildfire in the state’s history, which has engulfed more than 1 million acres of land … Continue reading

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Texas Department of Agriculture sort of recognizes climate change

It’s a start, I guess. On the heels of a historic drought that devastated crops from the High Plains to South Texas, a new Texas Department of Agriculture report released Tuesday linked climate change with food insecurity and identified it … Continue reading

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Yes, it’s been an especially hot summer

Record-breaking, in fact. Average high temperatures in Houston so far this summer have outpaced previous historically hot summers on record, according to the National Weather Service. In the months of May, June and July, temperatures in the city averaged 95.1 … Continue reading

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Maybe there won’t be another freeze this winter

Views differ. Love it or hate it — winter looks especially warm in Texas this year. Federal forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center said last week that much of the country is likely to see … Continue reading

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The bullet we dodged

We can exhale now. Following days of warnings and calls to take Laura seriously, Houston and Harris County awoke to a typical late August day Thursday, virtually unscathed by the category 4 hurricane’s overnight landfall in western Louisiana. The city … Continue reading

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Hope now, support relief efforts next

This is so, so bad. And it’s terrifying to realize how much worse it could have been. With winds topping 150 mph, Hurricane Laura is approaching Category 5 status as it barrels toward the Texas-Louisiana border. As of 7 p.m., … Continue reading

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Here comes Laura

Be prepared. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo urged residents to prepare for a hurricane as the track and intensity of Tropical Storm Laura remains uncertain. She said the greatest threat posed by Laura likely would be high winds and a … Continue reading

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Making a better severe storm warning

Of interest. We’ve all heard them – the blaring alerts that activate our cellphones or television when a severe weather warning is issued. Perhaps our favorite weather app sent us a push notification, or we saw a television meteorologist pointing … Continue reading

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It’s still supposed to be a busy hurricane season

Hurricane season technically lasts until December 1, but this is the peak of it, so keep paying attention. Don’t be lulled by a quiet June and July. The real Atlantic hurricane season is about to kick off. The hurricane season … Continue reading

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El Nino 2018

Here it comes. Houstonians can expect more rain than usual — and possibly street flooding — this winter, thanks to El Niño. The National Weather Service forecasts an 80 percent chance for a weak to moderate El Niño this winter, … Continue reading

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We’re going to get more big rain storms

Better get used to it. The weather is getting worse, says one expert. Torrential rains fall in the Houston area more often than they used to, according to an unpublished analysis from state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon. Heavy precipitation of any … Continue reading

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The drought is back

Bad news, y’all. The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor, released this morning, shows that more than three-quarters of Texas is now in at least a “moderate” drought, and nearly half the state is in a “severe” or worse … Continue reading

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How dry we were

We were drier than ever last year. Federal scientists confirmed Friday that Texas had its driest year on record in 2011. The statewide average rainfall for the year totaled just 14.88 inches, according to the National Climatic Data Center, beating … Continue reading

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Hot enough for ya?

Yeah, it’s really hot out there. Houston’s relentless heat wave prompted the National Weather Service today to declare a “Heat Emergency,” a designation that air temperature and humidity is a potential health threat for all people and is particularly dangerous … Continue reading

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