Imelda Could Bring Heavy Rainfall, Flooding to Houston Area

S Band Radar & Maps | Forecast | Weather Alerts
Traffic | Send Us a Photo/Video | Live Cams

Live video from the NBC 5 Weather Center will appear in the player above.

Imelda is threatening to dump up to 18 inches of rain in parts of Southeast Texas and southwestern Louisiana as the tropical depression moves inland over the next few days.

Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist and director of flood operations for the Harris County Flood Control District in Houston, said the main threat from Imelda remained the potential for heavy rainfall and flooding.

"We have a few things in our favor. The ground is dry. It's been dry for a while here as we've come through summer," Lindner said Tuesday. "The initial parts of this rainfall will go toward saturating the ground."

Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center, said the Houston area and parts of the upper Texas coast and East Texas could get significant rainfall through Thursday as the storm moves north. Imelda's rain bands were also stretching into Louisiana. [[560679652.C]]

The National Hurricane Center said early Wednesday that Imelda had weakened to a tropical depression and was located about 25 miles north-northwest of Houston.

Imelda is the first named storm to impact the Houston area since Hurricane Harvey , according to the National Weather Service. Harvey dumped nearly 50 inches of rain on parts of the flood-prone city in August 2017, flooding more than 150,000 homes in the Houston area and causing an estimated $125 billion in damage in Texas.

While there could be some isolated structure flooding in the Houston area, widespread house flooding from Imelda "doesn't look likely at this point," Lindner said.

However, he said residents who live in flood prone areas should still be mindful and take extra precautions.

Officials in the Houston area were preparing high-water vehicles and staging rescue boats Tuesday.

The storm, which formed Tuesday, made landfall near Freeport, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. Some parts of Harris County and neighboring Galveston County had already received about 4 inches of rain through Tuesday afternoon.

Many schools in the Houston and Galveston area canceled classes Wednesday because of the storm.

In a tweet Tuesday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner asked residents to be "alert and weather aware."

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday placed numerous resources on standby across Texas. The Texas Division of Emergency Management will be rostering four boat squads in coastal areas. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will be moving boats to support the Beaumont area and adjacent regions.

Meanwhile Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Humberto in the Atlantic Ocean is posing a stronger threat to Bermuda. The Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph was about 240 miles from Bermuda on Wednesday morning. Tropical Storm Jerry became the 10th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, though it remained far from land Wednesday. Meteorologists also said newly formed Tropical Storm Lorena in the Pacific Ocean could produce heavy rains and flooding in Mexico by Thursday.

The latest video forecast from NBC DFW's team of Weather Experts will appear in the player above. Keep up with the latest changes to the weather by downloading the NBC DFW smartphone App for iOS and Android!

Read the latest forecast information from NBC 5's team of Weather Experts here.

• Stay Connected. Download the NBC DFW App
• Set your push alert preferences.
• Charge your phones and tablets so that if you lose power you can still watch live weather coverage in the App.

Stay Safe During a Hail Storm   At Home? Head indoors immediately If time allows, close all drapes, blinds or shades to prevent broken glass from entering your home. Stay away from windows and skylights (any exterior glass) and head to a safe location inside your home, ideally only with interior walls. Outdoors? Cover your head and seek shelter indoors immediately. If you are trapped outside, get to a low-lying area and try to protect your head. Use clothing if it's all you have. Driving? Stay inside your vehicle. Slow down or pull over and stop at a safe location. DO NOT stop under a highway overpass. You may be protecting your vehicle, but you could be forcing other people to stop behind you. Turn your back to windows or cover yourself with a blanket, coat or spare clothing to protect yourself from breaking glass. If you have a sunroof, try to find something to protect your head.

 

---

Interactive Radar	NBC 5 S-Band	Dallas County	Tarrant County
Collin County	Denton County	Ellis, Johnson Co.	Rainfall Totals

---