Eric Berger

The National Weather Service has allowed the flash flood watch to expire for the entire Houston region, with the exception of Galveston and Chambers counties. Even for these areas, showers are dying out, and we should no longer face any kind of widespread, heavy rainfall threat. It has certainly been an atypical August so far, with the absence of high pressure allowing for lots of rainfall. Another benefit has been cooler weather. The first two weeks of August are typically the hottest time of year for our region, and we’ve been blessed with highs about five degrees below normal. Here’s what it’s been like at Bush Intercontinental Airport so far.

However, as you might suspect, this isn’t going to last. As pressures rise heading into this weekend, temperatures will follow.

Wednesday

The lower pressure system in the mid-levels of the atmosphere has slid off to the east. This means there is no real impetus for widespread, heavy rainfall across the Houston area today. However, atmospheric moisture levels remain high, so we’ll definitely see at least some scattered showers today—with better chances to the east of Interstate 45—and likely some isolated downpours. Fortunately, they should be relatively short lived. Highs will be around 90 degrees.

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As discussed Monday night, a moist atmosphere and a storm system centered to the northwest of Houston produced very heavy rainfall during the overnight hours, with 1 to 6 inches of rainfall across the Houston metro area. The heaviest rains fell across the western part of the area, from areas such as Katy to Jersey Village. Most bayous have remained within their banks, but some are very nearly full. Some roadways are flooded this morning, and motorists should take care in driving around the greater Houston area. Freeways are largely passable.

As of sunrise the bulk of the heaviest storms have moved off to the east, near Beaumont, and conditions are drying out over the greater Houston area. However, a flash flood watch remains in effect through 8am CT on Wednesday, due to the potential for additional storms to fire up this afternoon, and again during the overnight hours tonight. This is because a storm system in the mid-levels of the atmosphere remains anchored over the Waller County area. The concern, obviously, is that the heaviest rains again hit already battered western areas of the region. We will watch this closely and update as warranted.

The potential for heavy rainfall lessens—but does not go away entirely—on Wednesday and for the remainder of the week as pressures rise. Partly to mostly sunny skies should return by Thursday, and last through the weekend.

Posted at 6:50am CT on Tuesday by Eric

Just a quick update this evening to call attention to a large complex of thunderstorms slowly moving across northwestern Harris County, Waller County, and southwestern Montgomery County. Here, unstable air is combining with tropical moisture to produce very heavy rainfall.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory through 1:30am CT on Tuesday morning, and some areas could see 3 to 5 inches of total rainfall from late Monday through early Tuesday. These rains could cause street flooding and potentially threaten some structures in low-lying areas. The primary concern is that as this system gets closer to the coast, and more tropical moisture, the storms could continue to strengthen.

In terms of motion, the storms seem to be slowly sagging southeastward, and may move deeper into Harris County tonight, possibly toward the central part of the Houston region.

Posted at 10:50pm CT on Monday by Eric

Houston will remain under the influence of a moist air mass during the next couple of days, which will lead to intermittent moderate to heavy rain showers, and cooler-than-normal temperatures. Frankly, this is very un-August-like weather, with widespread rainfall occuring across much of the eastern half of Texas, and highs of around 90 degrees. And for me, that’s a perfectly fine way to get through the dog days of summer.

Monday

A large complex of storms dropped as much as six inches of rain over central Texas on Sunday night, and this morning the system is moving from the west into the Houston region. It has lost some of its potency, but still could produce 2 to 4 inches of rain over some parts of Houston today as it runs into the moist Gulf of Mexico air mass. Other areas should see less rain, but most of Houston should at least see some showers. Mostly cloudy skies should keep highs in the low 90s. A healthy chance of storms will remain during the overnight hours.

Tuesday

With low pressure (yet another advancing cold front that will stall over the area) and high moisture levels hanging around, I expect another day of widespread showers, with some thunderstorms producing heavy rainfall. For most people accumulations should be under 1 inch on Tuesday, but again there could be some localized street flooding issues under the heaviest storms. Highs around 90 degrees.

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