The KPRC 2 weather team is tracking a cool front that brings not only a break from the oppressive late summer humidity, but a chance to see some strong to severe thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon.
Let’s break down the timing and the threats:
Cool front timing:
Brazos Valley/Northern Counties: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
We’ll start to see a line of broken storms as the front pulls away from the I-20 corridor, and enter the northern counties and the Brazos Valley around lunchtime.
Houston Metro: 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.
This is where the forecast may get a little tricky. The leading edge of the front is expected to hit the Houston metro around 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. This could also be the time that the sea breeze storms that will be pulled in ahead of the front arrive at the same time.
If that’s the case, we could see a potential of storms slamming into one another across Houston. That could cause them to slow down, which would lead to the potential for some heavy downpours and isolated street flooding.
While the threat is low, it is still there. Rainfall totals appear to be ranging from 1-2 inches but those numbers could go higher if storms are blocked from moving.
Coastal counties: Wednesday evening:
The front should start to pick up speed as it approaches the coast. Storms could be packing 30-40 mph wind gusts and heavy rain as it moves down to the coast by midnight or 1 a.m. Thursday. Once the front is offshore, we’ll see some slightly cooler air and drier forecast for Friday and the weekend!