Houston Forecast: The potential for flash flooding

HOUSTON — I hope you aren’t tired of the rain yet, because more is on the way, and it could be coming down in buckets.  Standing water was spotted in several spots across the metro area yesterday with some minor street flooding.  But now we have a Flash Flood Watch up through tomorrow morning, so expect more streets to possible be impacted by several inches of standing water. 

The flash flood watch goes into effect tonight at 7 p.m. and runs through tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. Included in the watch are the following counties: San Jacinto, Polk, Washington, Grimes, Montgomery, Liberty, Colorado, Waller, Harris, Chambers, Wharton, Fort Bend, Matagorda, Brazoria and Galveston 

Since Friday, we have had an influx of tropical moisture into the area, and it doesn’t take much to squeeze it out of the atmosphere in the form of showers.  Think of a sponge that is soaked.  One little squeeze, and water comes out. That is how our atmosphere has been lately, and that “squeeze” today will come from a piece of energy drifting down towards SE Texas from the Panhandle this afternoon. A mesoscale convective system (or MCS) formed last night in the Colorado/Kansas/Oklahoma area, and then drifted down into Northern Texas overnight.  As it approaches Southeast Texas, the moisture started to run into some dry air and fizzle out a little.  But that main energy component of the system remains intact, and that is what will lead to our flooding potential, as it is reinvigorated and taps into Gulf moisture over the next 18-24 hours.

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TRACK THE WEATHER: Houston weather radar

The chance for scattered storms and downpours continues the entire workweek ahead of Saharan dust.  The storm potential will diminish as we head into the end of the work week, and into the weekend, when the dust should be entering the Houston area. Get ready to see some amazing sunrises and sunset but don’t be surprised if a few showers linger into the weekend. 

The good news with the dust, which is over the Atlantic Ocean and moving into the Caribbean Sea soon, has helped keep the tropics calm, so no hurricanes and tropical storms anywhere in sight, likely for the rest of this month. Tropical Storm Dolly, is the exception, since it formed in the Northern Atlantic Ocean but will pose no threat to land.