Flash Flood Watch issued, storms already firing this morning

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Flash Flood Watch is in effect from Friday 4 a.m. to Sunday 7 a.m. because heavy thunderstorms could repeatedly move over the same locations and cause flash flooding.

As of this morning heavy thunderstorms have fired along a boundary west and north of Houston, and we’ve already seen our first Flash Flood Advisory issued around 3:30AM. Our coastal communities are also getting in on the action. Expect more advisories and potential flash flood warnings as we go through the morning.

Those storms will likely push into Houston during the morning commute, and continue to spread across Southeast Texas as they slowly weaken for the rest of the day. By Friday evening we expect much less rain on the radar as the atmosphere becomes rain-cooled and stable

Where it rains Friday, we expect 1-3″ will be common with a 4-8″ swath wherever training storms set up. Isolated totals in a few spots could even exceed 10″ by Friday evening. Unfortunately, we cannot tell in advance where the highest rainfall totals will accumulate. This will mostly be a beneficial rain to help put a dent in our drought, but if those inches of rain fall too quickly, flash flooding problems could pop up. The bayous and creeks are in good shape and unlikely to exceed their banks if they dodge those higher accumulations.

Temperatures will likely remain stuck in the 70s under the clouds and rain.

Could any of the storms Friday turn severe?
Severe weather is unlikely but small hail and wind gusts over 40 mph are possible in the heaviest thunderstorms.

What are the rain chances for the weekend?
An upper level storm will slowly push through Texas Saturday and Sunday, and that means more opportunities for rain. Right now we have a 70% chance for thunderstorms on Saturday and a 40% chance of thunderstorms on Sunday. Timing the rain is difficult as it largely depends on how the storms evolve Friday. At this time we believe Saturday may start fairly dry in the morning and turn stormier during the afternoon and evening. Most of Sunday’s rain is likely to fall on Sunday morning with sunshine and temperatures in the 80s returning during the afternoon.