Mary Wasson

Austin

Meteorologist at San Antonio Express-News (TX)

Meteorologist @Austin_Monthly, @ExpressNews, @HoustonChron. Christian, wife, mother, weightlifter, runner, hiker, and bourbon drinker who loves KY, MS, and TX.

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Articles

Where Are All the Bluebonnets This Year?

1 week ago | austinmonthly.com | Mary Wasson

Wildflower season is in full swing across the Lone Star State, and by this time of the year, social media is usually flooded with pictures of endless bluebonnet fields. But in 2025, the iconic Texas flowers have been few and far between. So, what gives? The shortage of gorgeous bluebonnets is mainly due to the lack of rainfall during their germination window last fall, specifically in October and November.
Is the Enhanced Fujita scale adequate for Texas tornadoes? Here's how it works

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Mary Wasson

This is the time of year, when Texas sees more severe thunderstorms that can spawn tornadoes, you might hear more about where a twister ranked on the Enhanced Fujita scale or its EF rating. Among the effects from climate change, weather researchers are seeing changes in where tornadoes appear and when - so is the current tornado rating system adequate for today's storms? How strong can tornadoes get?
How Houston can identify cloud types to prepare for storm season

1 month ago | houstonchronicle.com | Mary Wasson

Understanding how to identify distinct types of thunderstorm clouds can give you a significant advantage in preparing for severe weather season in Texas. Even observing how the wind behaves ahead of a storm can help you figure out your next move. For instance, if the wind is drawing air from the surrounding environment into the storm, a movement of air meteorologists call inflow, the warm and moisture-rich air being pulled into a storm system can intensify the storm and foster severe weather.
How Texas zoos help animals in their care adapt to climate change

1 month ago | houstonchronicle.com | Mary Wasson

While Texas weather is known for its extremes - from scorching summers to winter freezes, with flash flooding and hurricanes in between - climate change is making these extreme weather events happen more frequently, with dramatic temperature swings from month to month. Animals, though, face greater challenges and climate change is affecting biodiversity worldwide, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a consortium of accredited zoos that includes the Houston Zoo.
What will Houston weather be like for tonight's 'blood moon' eclipse?

1 month ago | houstonchronicle.com | Mary Wasson

Texas is perfectly positioned for an exceptional view Thursday night of 2025's first and only total lunar eclipse, along with 1.1 billion other people who are in the path of totality. But will Houston's weather cooperate? What's the lunar eclipse forecast? The nighttime forecast for the total lunar eclipse calls for clear skies if you're viewing it from the Houston metro area.
Look Up! Austin Will Get a Gorgeous "Blood Worm Moon" This Week

1 month ago | austinmonthly.com | Mary Wasson

The countdown has begun for 2025’s first and only total lunar eclipse, and Texas is perfectly positioned for an exceptional view later this week, along with 1.1 billion other people who are in the path of totality. On Thursday, March 13, around 11 p.m., the moon will start to dim as it enters Earth’s outer shadow, the penumbra. By midnight, it will begin passing into Earth’s main shadow, marking the partial eclipse.
Your favorite saying about Texas weather may be truer than you think

1 month ago | houstonchronicle.com | Mary Wasson

Texans can make weather the topic of interest in the first five minutes of every conversation because our weather is as active, weird and volatile as Texans themselves. Here are a few weather-related sayings and idioms that have been used to describe the weather in Lone Star State.
San Antonio is under wildfire warnings. What do the alerts mean?

1 month ago | expressnews.com | Mary Wasson

The troubling mix of drought, dormant grass and brush, low humidity, and howling 45-mph wind gusts have created a dangerous and potentially historic wildfire risk on Tuesday. The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center has raised its fire danger outlook to "extreme," a classification rarely seen in the Lone Star State.
Texas severe weather season is starting. Where's your tornado safe spot?

1 month ago | houstonchronicle.com | Mary Wasson

With severe weather season in Texas typically starting in March and lasting through June, do you know where your home or workplace's designated safe spot is during a tornado? The key to surviving a tornado is developing a plan before any storms appear in the forecast, according to the National Weather Service. Identifying your safe shelter - whether at home, work, on the road or in a public place - and reaching it quickly is crucial because you may have only seconds to act.
What kind of spring weather will Houston have? Here's what NOAA says

2 months ago | houstonchronicle.com | Mary Wasson

As we endure the final days of this latest current blast of arctic air in Texas, the anticipation for spring is building. Ahead of the change in the seasons, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent agency of the National Weather Service, is expecting Texas to have a spring that will be warmer and drier than normal. NOAA's official weather outlook for the next three months is based on probabilities, so it doesn't provide specific temperatures or rainfall amounts.