Bands of heavy rain swept across the Houston area on Friday, prompting forecasters at FOX 26 to issue fresh advisories warning of street flooding in parts of the city and surrounding Harris County. The meteorologist tracking the system urged drivers to be careful as downpours moved through, while stressing that the threat was one of temporary, localized flooding rather than a citywide emergency.
According to the forecast, the most intense rain at the time was falling over the north and northeast sides of Houston and the northwest corner of Harris County, stretching from Jersey Village out toward Cypress. The storms were tracking from south to north, which meant communities further up the map were next in line to see the heaviest activity.
Forecasters said the rain was expected to push toward Tomball and Spring over the following half hour or so, and eventually probably reach The Woodlands as well. The steady northward movement of the cells shaped the warnings, with the FOX 26 meteorologist mapping out which neighborhoods would be affected next as the morning went on.
A couple of new advisories were issued during the coverage, including one that took in the city of Houston and most of the surrounding parts of Harris County, in effect until 1:30 in the afternoon. The heaviest rain under that advisory ran from Galena Park and Jacinto City up to northeast Houston, between the 610 North Loop and Beltway 8.
The meteorologist was careful to explain what that kind of advisory actually means, saying it points to temporary minor areas of street flooding rather than the whole city going under water. Even so, he noted that flooding on busy roads can quickly become hazardous, pointing to the northeast side of the 610 Loop where drivers were already moving along with their hazard lights on.
Some roads had already taken a beating earlier in the day. Wallisville Road and the area around I-10 and Lockwood were described as having been hit hard that morning, and the Jersey Village to Cypress corridor, which had seen about two inches of quick rain earlier, was bracing for perhaps another inch on the way that could begin to pile up.
Rainfall totals underlined how fast the water was coming down, with around an inch and a half recorded in a single hour in the Harrisburg area and a similar amount near TC Jester and the 610 on the northwest side. FOX 26 said the rain would be hit and miss into the evening before things calmed down, with the region expected to dry out and heat up by early next week.