Storm chances climb Saturday as cool front blows through Houston
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- It's still hazy and humid in Houston, but not for long. A cool front has pushed into Texas, and while it is stalled northwest of Houston, Saturday night, it will push through with showers and thunderstorms.
It's the calm (and humid) before the storm Saturday morning as temperatures rise into the low-mid 80s. And with a front right on our doorstep, big changes are in the forecast later today. Showers and storms will begin to develop west and north of Houston in the late afternoon and slowly make their way east through the evening and into the night.
What's the latest on Saturday's storms?
Thunderstorms will develop along a stalled front currently located across Hill Country and Central Texas later this afternoon. Those thunderstorms will stay over that region through the early evening before moving into Houston after sunset. That begin said, locally heavy rain of up to 2 to 4 inches from Columbs to College Station to Huntsville could lead to area and street flooding in flood-prone areas Saturday evening. Houston and the rest of Southeast Texas will pick up around half an inch to an inch of rain tonight. And some of these thunderstorms could grow and become strong, producing strong wind gusts, small hail and lots of lightning. A brief tornado cant be ruled out either, but generally that threat is low for Southeast Texas Saturday.
How much rain could fall from these storms?
Most will get less than an inch of rain, but where heavy thunderstorms train one after another, 2-4" of rain could fall in a short period of time with isolated higher amounts. That would lead to street flooding, and these training storms are most likely to set up near the stalled front in Hill Country and Central Texas.
How cool will it get behind this front?
After the front's passage, highs will drop into the 60s on Sunday, with lows in the 50s for a few mornings. In fact, some of you will wake up to temperatures in the upper 40s on Monday morning. Hopefully, you didn't put the jackets away just yet! The front should also push the smoky haze away. There will also be a significant break in the humidity, and there aren't many of those humidity breaks left before the real summer heat and humidity arrive.
Will the smoky haze be gone for good?
No. With the wind flow coming back at us from Mexico and Central America around Wednesday of next week, the haze, humidity, and storm chances should all return for the second half of next week.
HOUSTON RADAR MAPS:
Montgomery/Walker/San Jacinto/Polk/Grimes Counties
Fort Bend/Wharton/Colorado Counties
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