It's a day some thought might not come. After nearly a month since our last measurable rainfall, parts of the Houston area got a soaking. Almost everyone saw and felt rain and while it looked ominous at times, there were only a handful of severe weather reports.
First, here' s a look at what fell across the area, according to our Weather Bug network of sensors:
Sadly, the "official" Houston recording location, Bush Airport, only registered a paltry .19". That means the rain, while a welcome sight, didn't dent our drought at all.
The system spawning today's storms was an upper-level disturbance which came rolling out of West Texas overnight. This morning, in San Antonio and Austin, big storms dropped hail and blew gusty winds. For a time, Houston was under the threat of severe weather with a watch in place until 3 p.m. However, as the storm entered the western part of the city, the storms began to quickly weaken. There were only a handful of storm reports:
In College Station, quarter-sized hail was reported and there were a few trees knocked over. In Washington County, a funnel cloud was sighted, but didn't touch down. Downed trees were also reported in Colorado County and as the storm moved into Montgomery County, feeder roads onto I-45 became impassable.
We could see more rain Friday as a cold front descends from North Texas. Ahead of the front, temperatures may soar into the upper 80s, which could allow for a few isolated strong storms to develop. However, I don't expect the same widespread activity we saw today. Once the front exits by late afternoon, much drier weather moves in for the weekend, with morning lows Saturday and Sunday in the upper 50s!
Don't turn off those sprinklers just yet. We may not see rain again for another week.
