The city of Houston braces for significant weather disruptions as an upper-level low-pressure system sets its sights on the area this weekend. According to the National Weather Service, the forecast for today in Houston predicts mostly sunny skies with a high near 55 degrees and northeast winds of 5 to 10 mph. However, the skies will grow increasingly tempestuous starting Saturday afternoon with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, and the conditions will morph into cloudy with consistent, heavy rainfall that could result in localized flooding.
In light of the imminent downpour, the KHOU 11 Weather Team has declared a Weather Impact Alert Day for Sunday, citing, "Rounds of rain will continue through Saturday night and all day Sunday." The saturated ground may not absorb the heavy rain quickly enough, which could raise the threat of flooding, especially in areas east of Beltway 8 East, that are expected to face the brunt of this deluge, with rainfall totals between Saturday and Sunday potentially accumulating to 3 to 6 inches.
According to KHOU 11's report, "Training thunderstorms happen when a series of storms move over the same area one after another." This phenomenon augments the flooding risk, as the ground has scant time to soak up the initial rainfall before, the subsequent deluge arrives. A Level 2 threat on a 1-4 scale for potential street flooding has been issued by the Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service for Sunday.
This weekend’s weather will be rainy, with an 80% chance of rain on Saturday night, lasting into the early morning. Sunday will also be wet, with possible thunderstorms after noon and a high of 67°F. The weather is expected to clear up on Monday, with mostly sunny conditions to start the new week.
