A cold front will bring a line of storms across Southeast Texas Wednesday afternoon and evening. This will impact afternoon pickup, the evening commute and folks who are heading to the Rodeo to see Creed.
The biggest concern with this system will be damaging wind gusts and locally heavy rain. Storms could drop 1–3 inches of rain per hour, so brief street flooding is possible.
The morning actually looks quiet, but by early afternoon we could see a few storms develop ahead of the front.
These pre-frontal storms are the ones that could briefly spin, but thankfully the tornado risk is extremely low.
Storm Timeline:
Don’t forget cold fronts can speed up, so the timing could shift forward by a few hours, but as of our forecast on noon Tuesday this is the current thinking.
We will start the morning mostly quiet with cloudy skies and light showers possible. A few storms are possible closer to the I-35 corridor near Austin.
Around 1 p.m. the front pushes into the Brazos Valley bringing the heavy rainfall, wind, and lightning threat to Southeast Texas.
At this time we can also see some thunderstorms ahead of the front that could be stronger.
The line of thunderstorms will continue to push in from the northwest to the southeast through the afternoon. The leading edge will reach Harris county around 4 p.m.
The line will reach the Houston metro likely between 6-7 p.m. This will impact folks headed into the rodeo to see Creed, so stay weather aware. This line can bring localized street flooding and frequent lightning strikes.
After the line passes we are not in the clear as lingering showers and storms will be possible into the evening. You can see at 8 p.m. the front has passed through, but more storms are moving in from the northwest.
A few lingering storms and showers will be possible at 11 p.m. when folks are trying to leave the rodeo, but the main severe threat has ended.
By this time the greater risk would be street flooding.
By early Thursday morning we will be drying out and a push of cooler air will be moving into SE Texas. There are no rain chances on Thursday or Friday.
As these storms move overhead, remember you can always turn on our KPRC 2 Plus Livestream for the latest on the developing weather. If you are at the rodeo you can watch it from your mobile device for free at www.click2houston.com/watchlive