HOUSTON – The National Weather Service has issued a severe weather threat for Wednesday afternoon into the evening.
Weather bullet points:
- We’re keeping a close eye on the storms to our west and how they develop. That will play a role in what happens in our area as well. We’re tracking the chance for rain and thunderstorms to pick up this afternoon, pushing off the coast by this evening.
- Right now, we’re tracking a 5% chance for hail for areas to our north, the potential for damaging winds for the entire area with a focus to the north and very low, 2% chance for tornados for a select few areas to the north.
It’s really going to depend on the timing of the front itself, which at times can be tricky.
However, thanks to our weather app, we can send you updates and articles in real-time when it’s happening, because Mother Nature doesn’t exactly ask our permission to roll into town. She just does.
You can track radar here before you leave your house:
TIMING: Here’s a look at Futuretrack to help plan your day.
Right now, we’re tracking the chance for rain and thunderstorms to pick up this afternoon, pushing off the coast by this evening.
Severe Weather Threats:
Thunderstorms, Rain, hail and a 2% tornado risk for select areas to the north.
Right now, areas to the north, like College Station, Crockett, and Livingston, are under a 2 out of 5 severe weather threat, while areas near I-10 in Houston are a 1 out of 5.
The most popular question we get when a severe weather threat is split into two categories is: What’s the difference between the two?
YELLOW: Slight Risk (2 out of 5): An area of organized severe storms, which is not widespread in coverage but has varying levels of intensity.
In plain terms: Scattered severe thunderstorms are possible (more than just isolated), with better organization and structure — meaning storms are more dependable at producing severe weather where they form, though still not widespread or outbreak-level.
So what’s the difference between a Slight and Marginal severe weather threat for Wednesday?
The green (Marginal) areas indicate isolated, iffy potential: severe weather could happen in a few spots, but most storms will likely remain disorganized and spotty.
However, neither is a “major outbreak” scenario (that would be a 4 or 5/High risk).
Weather Threats for Wednesday:
We’re keeping a close eye on storms to the west of us and how they develop and that will play a role in what happens in our area as well. Right now, we’re tracking a 5% chance for hail for areas to our north, the potential for damaging winds for the entire area with a focus to the north and very low, 2% chance for tornados for a select few areas to the north.
Hail: A slight downgrade in our hail risk since Tuesday — we went from 15% to 5% for the areas shown in brown. The majority of the storms are trending farther north, but that doesn’t mean we’re fully out of the woods for hail.
Tornado: The areas shown in green have a 2% chance of tornadoes. As we always say, this is a very low but real risk for a tornado to develop.
Wind: We’ll be watching the majority of the area for the potential for damaging winds. Areas in brown are at 5%, while areas in yellow are at 15%. This means locations to the north are more likely to see gustier conditions compared to the areas in brown.