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Tropical Storm Imelda, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, made landfall near Freeport on Tuesday.
According to the National Weather Service, “this system is likely to produce life-threatening flash flooding along portion of the Upper Texas Coast, including the Houston and Galveston areas.”
The National Weather Service also issued a hazardous weather outlook that included Hays County. The NWS forecasts the following for San Marcos and the surrounding area for Wednesday and Thursday: “A tropical disturbance moving across the upper Texas Coast early Wednesday into Thursday to bring increased tropical moisture to the eastern half of South Central Texas for several days. Expect periods of locally heavy rainfall that could end up producing localized flash flooding. Also, stronger storms could produce thunderstorm wind gusts up to 40 mph on Wednesday and Thursday.”
According to the Associated Press, officials in the Houston area were preparing high-water vehicles and staging rescue boats Tuesday as Tropical Storm Imelda moved in from the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to dump up to 18 inches of rain in parts of Southeast Texas and southwestern Louisiana over the next few days.
Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist for the Harris County Flood Control District in Houston, said the main threat from Imelda remained the potential for heavy rainfall and flooding.
Lindner says while there is the potential for some isolated structure flooding in the Houston area, widespread house flooding "doesn't look likely at this point."
"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. "The initial parts of this rainfall will go toward saturating the ground."
Some parts of Harris County and neighboring Galveston County had already received 2 to 3 inches of rain through Tuesday morning.
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.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
