HOUSTON – Severe weather alerts were issued Friday as a strong line of storms moved through the Houston region.
Friday
A flash flood watch was issued until 1 p.m. Saturday for most of Southeast Texas, mainly along and north of Interstate 10.
RADAR: Track storms moving through Houston area
Some flood advisories were also in effect.
Read more about the latest weather alerts here.
What happened
According to NWS, a trained storm spotter said a tornado touched down in the area south of Columbus around 12:30 p.m. A brief tornado touch down was also reported near Eagle Lake about 1 p.m. Colorado County is cleaning up after the storm.
A funnel cloud was also reported in the Tomball area about 2 p.m. Tomball ISD students were ordered to shelter in place as the storm moved through.
Brodie Banks, a Channel 2 viewer, shot video of what appeared to be a funnel cloud over the Tomball area and tagged KPRC in a tweet posted to social media. Banks was in the parking lot of an Academy store on FM 2920 and Highway 249 where he saw the funnel cloud.
There were no reports of damage. The storm that pushed through the Tomball area dumped heavy amounts of rain and led to ponding and minor street flooding in some spots.
Heavy rain produced some street flooding across northern Harris County and southern Montgomery County. Video showed ponds forming on streets in Magnolia.
The alerts in Southeast Texas came after damage was reported during a tornado warning in the area of La Grange, Texas. Video showed significant damage to at least one building there.
VIDEO: Damage near La Grange
The First Baptist Church in La Grange also posted video on Facebook that showed significant damage to a building.
New Church Property Tornado Damage
Posted by First Baptist Church, La Grange, TX on Friday, May 3, 2019
NWS officials said a team is being sent to the area to survey the damage.
The forecast
Two rounds of storms made for a very busy Friday.
Round one, which began Friday morning, produced several reports of tornadoes, high winds and hail.
Skies lit up again Friday night with round two. The second complex of storms moved in Friday night and are expected to last through early Saturday morning. With training storms producing heavy rain, some street flooding is certainly possible.
Monitor current weather and road conditions and remember to never drive through high water.
Storms will clear shortly after sunrise Saturday, giving way to a pleasant weekend. Expect very warm afternoon temperatures in the mid- to upper 80s Saturday and Sunday afternoon.