ABC13 Weather Alert: Torrential rain and strong to severe thunderstorms likely Thursday

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Weather Alert Day has been designated for Thursday due to the possibility of widespread street flooding. A Flood Watch has also been issued until 7 p.m. Thursday.

Scattered thunderstorms will move from the Matagorda Bay area toward the Houston metro by Thursday morning. Those storms will merge with another line of storms coming in from the Hill Country. When that merger happens, the storms will slow down and potentially train over the same areas for several hours. Because our atmosphere will be so unstable, our rainfall rates will be high with the storms, potentially resulting in rainfall rates approaching or exceeding 2″ per hour in southeast Texas. In that scenario, significant and widespread street flooding will be possible.

What’s the latest on the new Flood Watch, and how much more rain are we expecting this week?

Since Monday, most of southeast Texas has picked up between 1 and 3 inches of rain this week. With it falling in waves, the rainwater has been pretty manageable so far. However, the ground is now saturated so any rain that falls now through Friday will fall as runoff, which increases the flood risk. A Flood Watch is in effect until 7 p.m. Thursday for most of southeast Texas, including the Houston and Galveston areas.. An additional 2 to 4 inches of rain will likely fall between now and Thursday evening. Where thunderstorms train, 6-10″ plus will be possible. This could lead to significant street and area flooding at first, but excessive rainfall and runoff could then lead to flash flooding as well. Additionally, we’ll be watching for rapid rises on some of the streams and creeks in the area. Some bayous could rise as well.

What should we expect for Father’s Day weekend?

There will still be scattered downpours both Saturday and Sunday, but the upper-low serving as our primary storm-maker will be pulling away. We have the rain chance at 60% for Saturday and 40% for Sunday. Temperatures both days will start off in the mid 70s and warm into the upper 80s before the showers and storms cool things down.

When can we expect some drier weather?

Right now we have a daily rain chance through early next week. The weather pattern that is keeping Houston stormy this week will eventually move over the weekend. So while rain chances aren’t’ as high or widespread by Sunday or Monday, there’s still a small chance for a few storms until a drier pattern settles in, which is expected by mid-week next week.

What’s happening in the tropics?

At this time, the Atlantic basin is filled with a Saharan dust cloud, limiting tropical development. There is plenty of activity in the eastern Pacific, though, with one named storm off the western coast of Mexico. For a thorough update and in-depth video on what’s happening in the tropics, head to our tropical update page.

13 ALERT RADAR MAPS:
Southeast Texas
Houston
Harris County
Galveston County
Montgomery/Walker/San Jacinto/Polk/Grimes Counties
Fort Bend/Wharton/Colorado Counties
Brazoria/Matagorda Counties

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