Matt Lanza

SAL to visit Houston again this weekend

Our old friend SAL, the Saharan Air Layer (dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa) will be making a return visit to Texas this weekend, at least in higher quantities than we’ve seen this week. It will bring some grimy air quality by Sunday, as well as some potentially interesting sunrises and sunsets.

Model data from NASA shows thicker Saharan dust arriving in Houston on Sunday and Monday. (NASA)

You can see from the animation we’ve put together with NASA data that the brightest colors, or thickest dust arrives on Sunday afternoon, and it should be with us through about Tuesday. Dust has been with us to some extent much of this week, but it will be much more noticeable by later Sunday. So if you are an allergy sufferer (raises hand) or have respiratory ailments, worsening air quality on Sunday and Monday may cause you some discomfort. Air quality should improve after Tuesday. If interested, you can check the Texas air quality outlook here.

Today through Sunday

We’ve had a bit of a late start to thunderstorm activity over Houston the last two days, waiting until 3 PM or later in most cases. Yesterday’s storms were particularly frisky, with parts of Houston’s Inner Loop and West Houston seeing 1-2″ of rain. The Woodlands took home the trophy on Thursday with nearly 3″ of rain in spots.

I’m guessing we will see further hit or miss storms develop today through Sunday. Storm chances will generally diminish each day through the weekend compared to where they have been. Still, a few showers or storms should pop up each morning near the coast (you may have had rain in La Marque or Texas City already this morning, for example), advancing inland during the afternoon. Like yesterday, the handful of places that do see rain could see a fair bit of it in short order, so just be aware of that this weekend.

For most of the area, the majority of the weekend just looks partly to mostly sunny and hot. The last few days saw high temperatures exceed weather model guidance. We’ve hit the mid-90s, despite forecasts generally in the lower 90s. There’s a good chance we’ll do that again this weekend. We’ll call it generally low- to mid-90s for most of the area through Sunday. Overnight lows will be in the middle or upper-70s with humidity.

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A calmer Thursday for Houston

After yesterday’s wild weather, things will scale back a bit today, and we should end up calmer. All bayous and rivers are within their banks and generally lowering, including the San Jacinto River at Humble, which briefly popped into minor flood stage last night.

The West Fork of the San Jacinto River near Humble briefly went into flood last night, but it has since fallen back a bit. Other bayous and rivers are receding or safely below flood stage as well. (NWS)

Calmer weather doesn’t mean totally dry, however. Over the next several days we’ll be dealing with a few disturbances to bring us more rain chances, though at this point none look quite as significant as what we just experienced.

Today

We’ll see a return of some sunshine and heat today, as we start the day partly to mostly sunny. A few showers will be possible south and west of Galveston this morning, down through southern Brazoria and Matagorda Counties. As we heat up, I do expect at least a few more showers and storms to develop elsewhere in the region, but these will be more of the hit and miss variety, with many neighborhoods staying dry today. Expect high temperatures in the lower 90s.

Any storms that do occur today will be capable of briefly heavy rainfall and some gusty winds, as well as lightning. So just be aware of that.

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Rain ending, street flooding continues in Houston

The worst of the rain is now over as of early this afternoon in Houston. Heavier rains have migrated west toward the Sealy area, which has seen 1-3″ of rainfall over the last hour or two.

A Flash Flood Warning remains in effect there. Houston’s Flash Flood Warnings will expire soon, but with street flooding likely to continue, travel within the city through the late afternoon is discouraged. We’d advise people to just stay put through late day if possible. Road and weather conditions will improve this evening.

While weather conditions will generally improve area-wide this afternoon and evening, there will still be a few showers and storms scattered about the region. So I can’t promise the evening will be entirely dry. But it should be mostly cleared out. Still, a sub-optimal July 4th overall.

No change in thinking from earlier this morning regarding tomorrow and into the weekend, as additional showers and storms will be possible each day.

Total rainfall from this storm will top 8″ in parts of Houston, centered just west of downtown.

4-8″ of rain has fallen in much of central Houston, with 1-4″ surrounding the city, though with pockets of higher amounts south and east. (Harris County Flood Control)

On average about 4-8″ inside the Loop and down near Clear Lake. Surrounding that, about 1-4″ fell. Most bayous are in their banks, but a few have come out in spots, exacerbating flooding in those neighborhoods. You can see rain totals and inundation maps from Harris County Flood Control here.

Unless something changes, that’s it for today, and we’ll be back with more in the morning.

 

Widespread street flooding in Houston

Quick mid-morning update for you. Heavy rains on the order of 2-4″ per hour have led to widespread, and in some cases, serious street flooding in the city of Houston and areas southeast and just west. A flash flood warning is in effect for much of the city through Noon, and I suspect it will be extended through early afternoon.

Rainfall of 2-5″ over a good chunk of Houston, much of it in a short time, has led to widespread street flooding in the area. (Harris County Flood Control)

Rain isn’t in much of a hurry to exit the city of Houston. Expect heavy rain over the next 2-3 hours through Midday.

We continue to think the rains will exit this afternoon. But there will be some heartburn between now and then. Our best advice is to just stay put and off the roads for awhile in Houston.

See our morning post for more.

We’ll tackle questions in the comments as time permits.