Hurricane, schmurricane

Will Hurricane Alex rain on your Independence Day party?

Houstonians have learned not to expect many concessions from the unhabitable South Texas weather, so we make only three humble requests: Sunny and clear on Memorial Day, Labor Day and the Fourth of July, and maybe a light snow around Christmas once a decade.

But it looks like this year Mother Nature isn't playing along. Even though newly-dubbed Hurricane Alex is heading towards a landfall south of the Rio Grande; scattered thunderstorms, potential flooding and a three-foot storm surge are in the weekend forecast.

The question is how much the potential storms will upset Houston plans for a festive Fourth. According to weather.com, by Sunday, the chance of precipitation drops below 50 percent for the first time in July.

The thousands that teem to Galveston and Lake Conroe might have second thoughts, but proactive local partiers could outwit Alex by keeping plans loose and heading outside for barbecue, sparklers and tanning when the skies permit, but also having an indoor space nearby ready with a contingency plan — after all, burgers and bathing suits are fun, but so is poker and pizza (and there's no law against sporting a bikini indoors).

Galveston doesn't figure to be nearly as effected as farther-away, Texas-beach escapes like Corpus Christi, Rockport and most of all South Padre Island. Many South Padre visitors have already hightailed it out of town and businesses are boarding up.

Organizers for Freedom Over Texas, the largest Houston Independence Day event, with fireworks and a live concert featuring Pat Green, say the show will go on, rain or shine. But lightning would threaten any large outdoor event, and fireworks are riskier in strong winds than can shift debris and embers onto spectators.

But this is America for a reason — we didn't beat the Brits over 200 years ago by being afraid of a little rain.

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are you happy?

Houston continues sad streak as one of the 'unhappiest' U.S. cities

Photo by Damaris Martin on Unsplash

Even with a poor ranking, you still shouldn't ask us to "smile more."

A new nationwide study analyzing the happiest cities in America has determined Houston is slightly happier than it was last year, but it still appears to be one of the unhappiest U.S. cities in 2026.

Houston currently ranks as the 128th happiest U.S. city. Last year, it was No. 151.

WalletHub determined the happiest cities in America based on 29 relevant metrics based on "positive-psychology research" across three main categories: emotional and physical wellbeing, income and employment, and community and environment. As with most WalletHub studies, it compared the 182 most populous U.S. cities.

Fremont, California claimed the top spot as the happiest city nationwide for another year. Bismark, North Dakota and Scottsdale, Arizona, respectfully, rounded out the top three.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Houston across the three key dimensions:

No. 107 – Emotional and physical wellbeing
No. 148 – Income and employment
No. 158 – Community and environment

Despite its low ranking, Houstonians are working hard to improve their city's quality of life year after year, whether its through opening new restaurants, inviting Houston-born stars to perform at the rodeo, or having a strong job market. We also have some of the best museums, a diverse culinary scene, and iconic institutions like the Johnson Space Center. And considering that people keep moving here, Houston must be happier than other places.

Having a good job and a fun social life can qualify as factors that measure happiness, but WalletHub separately emphasized that making more money doesn't necessarily mean "more" happiness.

"For decades, researchers have explored the science of happiness and identified several core factors, including mental well-being, physical health, strong social ties, job satisfaction, and financial stability," the report said. "Still, income has its limits — studies show that earning more than $75,000 a year does not lead to greater happiness."

Elsewhere in Texas
The Dallas suburb Plano and its residents' happiness far outshines the rest of Texas, according to WalletHub. Plano ranked as the 16th happiest U.S. city, and the No. 1 happiest statewide. Austin was the only other Texas city to rank among the top 50, landing in the No. 39 spot.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 70 – Irving
No. 92 – Garland
No. 106 – Grand Prairie
No. 111 – Dallas
No. 113 – Fort Worth
No. 119 – Arlington
No. 135 – Lubbock
No. 137 – El Paso
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 150 – Brownsville
No. 154 – San Antonio
No. 155 – Corpus Christi

reports san antonio wallethub