High pressure combined with normal summertime conditions has made for some pretty miserably hot weather in Houston over the past week. If you are a fan of the sunshine and high temperatures, you were no doubt thrilled with highs in the upper 90s all week including a couple of days that got over the century mark. You may have even enjoyed the extremely warm evenings with lows that didn't get below 80 for several days.

Good news for you: It's not changing this weekend. Expect plenty of sun and temperatures in the upper 90s on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It's a rather rinse-repeat schedule for the next few days, so take advantage. No doubt the beaches will be packed and Bolivar ferry wait times long over the weekend.

It is worth noting that humidity will remain high as will ozone levels, so any outdoor activity should be limited. But, otherwise, enjoy the sunshine. Early next week, we should see a change with better chances of rain and temperatures going back into the lower 90s, more typical of Houston this time of year.

Watching the Tropics

With high pressure dominating across the Atlantic Basin, the tropics remain quiet and should stay that way over the next week to 10 days. The peak of hurricane season is approaching, however, and it is worth noting a rather troubling report from hurricane expert Dr. Jeff Masters about the heat content in the Gulf of Mexico. While most of the Atlantic remains rather cool for this time of year, there are a couple of pockets of deep, warm water in the Gulf. Masters explains it better than we could, but suffice it to say it is the kind of warm water we saw in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita blew up into category 5 storms in the Gulf. Temperatures are at near record levels in the Gulf.

So, even if the season remained somewhat calm, one organized storm moving through the Gulf could pose real problems for areas from Florida to Mexico. This is one of the reasons everyone needs to pay attention during hurricane season.