The National Weather Service has expanded and extended the Tornado Watch in Southeast Texas. It now includes essentially all areas north and east of about Sugar Land until 4 PM. A Tornado Watch just means conditions are favorable for possible tornadoes to develop. There’s nothing imminent out there as of this writing, but through this morning, we’ve seen a few storms well northwest of the city quickly flare up and flare back down, showing signs they could be tornadic. So it’s entirely plausible we see a few more spin ups like that occur over the next few hours.
The radar shows the squall line organizing to our west as of 9:40 AM. It will slowly move through the Houston Metro over the next several hours. Heavy rain and localized street flooding in the usual spots will be likely, but probably nothing worse. Areas north of Conroe have seen almost 3″ of rain though, so some extra street flooding could occur near Huntsville and in Walker County. In addition to heavy rain, some 30-40 mph or stronger wind gusts will be likely as this line moves through.
Additionally, it’s going to turn sharply colder behind the front. Temperatures may drop 10-15 degrees as the rain moves through, so what started as a balmy, humid day will end with a bit of an autumn chill.
Bottom line: No imminent worries, but you will want to stay vigilant and weather aware through early this afternoon.
Posted at 9:45 AM CT
Is the storm moving slower than expected? Would that leave it over the city for a longer period of time and/or disrupt evening rush hour?
May be moving slightly slower, but I think the worst will be well east of us by rush hour. Still could be raining at that time, but would likely be on the wane.
The wind is howling 30-40 mph here in Orange County…reminds me of a tropical system blowing in…
Can you give us an idea of what things will look like for rush hour?
LOVING the new blog, by the way. Thank you for bringing us real weather insight. I know you mentioned finding a sponsor in the future, and I just wanted to say that I would support whatever advertising you decided to do here–I hope this blog becomes as valuable for you as it is for us and that it turns into something that rewards you for all the effort you’ve put into it. I can’t tell you how much I’ve come to rely on your reporting. Thanks!
Thanks, and sorry I missed this.
25 degree drop in Clear Lake.