Doppler Radar Shows Strong Thunderstorms, Flood Watch Through Monday Night
Doppler radar showed strong thunderstorms moving through the Houston area on Saturday morning while a flood watch remained in effect until Monday night. More than 36,000 people were without power at 6 a.m. as a powerful line of storms pushed through the region.
Houston Flood Watch
The National Weather Service expanded the flood watch on Friday to include Houston and Harris County as well as most of southeast Texas. The watch covered the majority of the viewing area from Friday through Monday night, with only the far northern and northwestern counties left out.
That setup came after the area had already picked up 1 to 3 inches of rain in the last 72 hours, while the coast saw 6 to 8 inches. The forecast still called for 2 to 4 inches more, with isolated spots possibly seeing more than 5 inches.
Saturday Storms
Strong thunderstorms were being tracked for El Campo, Wharton and Rosenberg, and the National Weather Service put the chance of thunderstorms at 80 percent on Saturday. The first big round of storms was expected between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., with the heaviest rain along and north of I-10.
Some areas could see four hours of very heavy rain before a brief break. Flooding was not actively happening at the time, but the watch signaled conditions that could support it if the rain bands slowed or repeated over the same areas.
Monday Night Outlook
The low pressure area responsible for the excessive rain was expected to move out on Monday, after which storms were expected to become isolated and mostly confined to the afternoon. Scattered showers and thunderstorms were still possible each afternoon through Friday because of a lingering trough of low pressure.
For residents under the watch, the immediate concern is the stretch from Saturday into Monday night, when repeated rounds of rain could add to totals already on the ground. The practical response is to plan around the heaviest rain window on Saturday evening and the possibility of slow drainage in places that already took on several inches.
