Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
Issued by NWS Houston/Galveston, TX
754 FXUS64 KHGX 182312 AFDHGX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX 612 PM CDT Tue Aug 18 2026 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... - Hot and dry conditions to prevail. - Heat indices should be in the 103-107F range today and Wednesday...possibly trending up a touch after that. We`ll monitor for potential future Heat Advisories. Regardless of whether an advisory is in effect on any given day, heat precautions/messaging remain the same for those with plans or working outdoors. - Rain chances currently mainly remain too low to advertise for most locations at the current time. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 1220 PM CDT Tue Aug 18 2026 Broad mid-upper ridging stretching from SoCal-Texas-northern Gulf Coast will keep hot & dry wx in place. With some troughing developing across the eastern CONUS during the second part of the week, the ridge should become repositioned across the Four Corners area/Rockies/Southern Plains well into next week. Locally, heights generally remain about the same on a daily basis, so overall temperatures should be about status quo with highs approaching the triple digits and lows in the upper 70s-low 80s. In terms of heat advisories, dewpoints have been mixing out the past few days and keeping us below thresholds. There are signs that some slightly higher llvl moisture levels make their way into the area in a few days which could potentially allow for more coverage of 108F+ heat index readings. Just something we`ll be keeping an eye on. In the meantime, typical late summer heat precautions should be taken whether there`s a headline in the fcst or not. In terms of rain: chances generally look low to nil. Cannot completely rule out a rouge, short-lived shower popping up around the coast (like we`re currently seeing near Angleton)...but they`ll be insignificant and most of us won`t see much of anything. Also, we`ll be monitoring trends Friday night and into the weekend as some guidance suggests the potential for some disturbances/precip upstream in the n/ne flow aloft to sag into, or close, to the region. Forecast confidence is low in those regards, but we might be able to add some lowish POPs into the fcst should we see better model consistency. 47 && .AVIATION... (00Z TAF Issuance) Issued at 601 PM CDT Tue Aug 18 2026 No surprises here, another rinse and repeat seat of TAFs this afternoon. VFR conditions prevail, with some low-end ~15 kt SSW gusts associated with the seabreeze. Winds decrease during the overnight period, and take on a more WSW direction early tomorrow morning. For the past several days, there has been patchy fog/lower CIGs in the early morning hours around sunrise. Another round of patchy fog and lower cigs is possible, however, there is a low chance that CIG/VIS reaches MVFR criteria-- cloud decks will be more "FEW" and "SCT" in nature, and any fog that develops will be patchy. Tomorrow, winds pick up in the afternoon and veer to the S. As for rain, the chances for any precip is low, though we can`t rule out a stray shower near the coast. MLG && .MARINE... Issued at 1220 PM CDT Tue Aug 18 2026 With surface high pressure situated across the north central Gulf, look for light to moderate southwest to south winds for the next several days. Some gusts to 15-20kt are possible in the bays during the late afternoon and evening hours, and in the Gulf waters overnight. Seas in the 2-4ft range should generally prevail. 47 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... College Station (CLL) 79 100 77 101 / 0 0 0 0 Houston (IAH) 80 99 78 99 / 20 0 0 0 Galveston (GLS) 84 92 84 92 / 0 0 0 0 && .HGX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. GM...None. && $$ DISCUSSION...47 AVIATION...MLG MARINE...47