After back to back days of misery for many in the Houston area once again, we *may* finally have a quieter day (or more) to exhale here. Today looks drier and calmer. Unfortunately, we still have residual problems to discuss and more storms down the road. But for now, let’s revel in the goodness of dry weather. Read on for the latest.
Another Round of Severe Flooding North of Houston
I guess maybe this is round 3? 4? I’ve lost count. Either way, another slow moving, training area of heavy 1-2″ per hour rainfall continues north and west of Houston this afternoon. The radar as of 4 PM looks like this:
For most of the afternoon, this has been slow to move. While it’s still crawling, the heaviest rainfall is actually showing signs of progress south and east. For those of you looking to get a jump start on getting out of town for Memorial Day Weekend, I suggest you hang tight. Heavy rain is arriving in Downtown Houston as I write this, and areas south and east of the city, largely spared this week, will see heavy rain and thunder as well this evening.
Up north, it’s a disaster in spots, with another 3-6″ falling in the Spring Creek Basin, including The Woodlands and surrounding areas. This has forced Spring Creek to near or above record levels at both FM 2978 and Highway 249, higher than Tax Day by one foot or more.
The rain should begin to taper off through early evening up that way thankfully. Heavy rains will march south and east, and if the latest HRRR model is to be believed, they’ll be offshore by late evening. Fingers crossed.
We’ll have an update on the rest of the weekend in the morning (I’ll be active on Twitter through evening), but I think it can only get better from here. Be safe, be smart, never drive through flooded roadways, and take your time if you absolutely have to travel this evening around Southeast Texas.
Posted: 4:10 PM Friday by Matt Lanza
Storms firing up north of Houston again today, may sag southward
Most of the Houston area has remained shower-free this morning, but we’re becoming concerned about a boundary between warmer (to the south) and cooler air masses that has set up a bit to the north of Interstate 10 today. Its position at 11:45am CT is shown below.
We’ve seen storms form north of this boundary today, including over already hard-hit areas of southwestern Montgomery County, and this should continue. That’s because there’s an ample flow of moisture and warmth coming from the south-southwest which is helping to feed storm development. As the day progresses we could see this boundary sag further south, bringing some heavier storms into the central Houston metropolitan area.
There is a lot of uncertainty in the forecast, but even a few more inches of rain across northern Harris, southern Montgomery, Waller and Grimes county would prove very troubling. And the prospect of heavier rains moving southward into the central Harris County area later this afternoon to start off the Memorial Day weekend isn’t particularly appealing either. We’ll be keeping a close eye on developments for you.
Posted by Eric Berger at 11:55am CT on Friday
Tremendous storms hammer northwest Houston area, worst appears to be over
We’re nearing the end of an incredible rain event over the northwest and northern Houston metro area. A final line of major storms moved through the northern half of the metro area this morning, a little before sunrise, and now it seems like the organized activity is finally ramping down. Here’s a look at rainfall totals between 5am CT Thursday, and 5am CT Friday:
