Another round of storms for Wednesday, more coming through the weekend

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- We still encourage you to keep the umbrella nearby through the weekend! Tropical air will continue to bring daily downpours to Southeast Texas, and there are signs rain chances could go even higher for parts of the weekend.

Another round of Gulf moisture blowing in overnight will lead to pre-dawn rain showers from Houston to Galveston, so it could be a rainy morning drive for some of you. Thursday's storms could once again bring frequent lightning, heavy rains that could briefly flood streets, wind gusts over 40 mph, and small pea size hail. Remember, when thunder roars, go indoors!

Temperatures will start off in the low 70s and then warm into the mid 80s. Once the storms pass through, it should remain most rain-cooled through the afternoon with temperatures in the 70s.

This rainy outlook continues into the weekend with the daily chance for scattered showers and storms each day through Monday of next week.

Why could the rain chances go even higher for the weekend?

Not only will we have high levels of tropical moisture overhead, but we will also have a large upper low moving through West Texas. This will lift up the air in a widespread fashion across Texas, leading to rain chances for most of the state. Even once the upper low moves away on Sunday, it will still be dragging high levels of tropical moisture overhead to generate more scattered downpours once it warms into the mid 80s.

Should I cancel my outdoor plans this weekend?

Not necessarily. Some plans may be significantly altered by the scattered, heavy thunderstorms, but it won't rain all day. Typically the highest rain chances for Houston when tropical moisture blows in occur between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Then rain-cooled air stabilizes the atmosphere in the late afternoon and evening. If you do have outdoor plans and keep them rain or shine, just make sure you have a place to run for cover should a heavy thunderstorm come your way.

Is severe weather possible?

The risk of severe weather is low for the rest of this week, but there could be some tropical funnels that occur in the morning over our coastal counties. Isolated pockets of street flooding are possible for brief stretches of time where the heaviest rains fall. Some storms could also produce gusty winds associated with the heavy downpours.

Now that it's hurricane season, what are you tracking in the tropics?

There are two things we are tracking right now. The first is the tropical moisture over the Gulf that comes our way over the weekend. The second is a large plume of Saharan dust currently stretching across the Atlantic from Africa to the Caribbean. For the latest on what's happening in the tropics, head to our Tropical Update page for our daily tropical weather discussion and forecast.

13 ALERT RADAR MAPS:
Southeast Texas
Houston
Harris County
Galveston County
Montgomery/Walker/San Jacinto/Polk/Grimes Counties
Fort Bend/Wharton/Colorado Counties
Brazoria/Matagorda Counties

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