As of writing this, Tropical Storm Nicholas was nearing landfall north of Corpus Christi on a path north-northwest. Houston has already begun to feel the effects with rain and occasional downpours around the city. While the worst of it will come for the metro area tonight after midnight, it appears the very worst of the storm’s rainfall totals will miss most of the city.
Forecasters are now calling for the heaviest and most sustained rainfall to come south and east of the city from Brazoria County and Galveston to Jefferson County and Beaumont, as well as communities near the coast like Kemah, Clear Lake, Lake Jackson and others.
Much of the Houston area has already seen one to two inches of rain during the day on Monday. It will not be surprising for the city to see another four to five inches widespread. South of us, where they have received more rain already, will get closer to or above double digits after tonight.
Areas north and west of downtown, particularly the northern and western suburbs are likely to see lower impacts than the rest of the region, but roadways will still be messy with many low-lying underpasses swamped like in most floods.
Fortunately, Nicholas is forecast to move out of the area fairly quickly and we should begin to dry out by Tuesday afternoon, sooner than originally expected. We may still have some lingering showers, but not the widespread stuff forecast for Monday night.
And if you are tired of watching the tropics, even better news. We have roughly ten days left of hurricane season here in Texas. While the full hurricane season lasts through November, the first cool front tends to be in the second or third week of September, drastically dampening hurricane activity that tries to make it this far west into the Gulf.
So, hang in Monday night and it will be sweater weather before you know it.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2021.
