Good morning. Before jumping in to today’s post, I wanted to apologize for site outage problems during the overnight hours. This is very unfortunate timing and we will correct the problem going forward.
On Wednesday night, as anticipated, much of the Houston region passed a relatively quiet night. However, the same cannot unfortunately be said for regions to the east and northeast of Harris County. An extreme rainfall event has unfolded over Jefferson and Orange counties. This morning, the National Weather Service took the rare step of issuing a “Flash Flood Emergency” for the region, warning residents that, “This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”
This is really a terrible situation for Beaumont, Winnie, and surrounding areas. There are major issues on Interstate 10 through the area. Some areas have seen 10 to 15 inches of rainfall during the overnight hours, and a thick band of rainfall due to Imelda continues to saturate the area. It is showing no signs of movement for the next couple of hours.
With respect to Houston, we have some concerns later today. A related band of storms near Conroe and Cleveland will likely eventually sag southward today. Accordingly, parts of Montgomery County will likely see 2 to 8 inches of rainfall today, and some northern and central parts of Harris County may see 2 to 6 inches of additional rainfall. These areas of the Houston region have, until now, been somewhat unaffected by Imelda’s heaviest rains so they can probably handle most of this rain. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any street flooding, however.
We probably will see some additional storm development later today, but most of the activity should wind down this evening as the sun sets. By Friday morning we should return to more normal, business-as-usual pop-up thunderstorms. So we’ve all got to get through one more day of Imeda-misery. We will update accordingly.
Glad you’re back. Thank you for the update.
After 2+ years of no server issues, it looks like a stick of RAM might have gone bad. Working with the hosting company this AM to fix the issue. Many apologies for the downtime, and many thanks for your patience 🙂
What are your thoughts on the evening commute from downtown? I know I can’t be the only one wondering if (1) it’s safe to go into work today and (2) it will be passable to get home. Thank you for all you do!
Wondering the same. It depends on how far south that band might come.
Ditto, although I am doing the opposite commute (work is south, drive home is into downtown late afternoon) Same thoughts though, wondering how far south that band will sag how how long/much it will rain….
I have to go to LA today from Galveston, do you think around noon it will be passable on 1-10.
US 90 is currently (9 am) passable, so if you really need to get to Louisiana, that’s the way to go. I would not expect I-10 reopen by noon. Rain’s still coming down hard along I-10, so things will get worse before they get better there.
Any thoughts on approx what time that band will sag southward?
And how far south / and how long before it clears
Doubt it. Right now that little 10 mile stretch between Winnie and Beaumont is shut down, which is kind of a bullseye and has gotten over 25 inches so far.
Thanks to your track record of balanced and calm reporting, I know when you say it’s bad, IT’S BAD. Appreciate the info, always.
Would love to hear any thoughts on the New Caney/Splendora area. I have family out there and they are very nervous about flooding. Thanks for your helpful coverage!
In Conroe, there was a really rough thunderstorm around 5:30 or so that was just non-stop booming and heavy rain. The thunderstorm has finally passed and we still have intermittent rainfall. Our subdivision streets are flooded and the water’s up in our yard. It didn’t get this bad during Harvey! It’s a good time to be working from home!
out of curiosity; where is this thing going? The initial guidance seemed to indicate Northern trajectory but it now seems to be heading more East than north. Is there a chance this dips back into the gulf?
No one has spoke of inmates in Beaumont we are praying for all as our concerns of family there at Beaumont Prisons .ty