Houstonians can expect a soggy week, with forecasters predicting heavy rains and the possibility of localized street flooding even as the worst of the storms are expected to hit south of the city.
A tropical storm or tropical depression is expected to form midweek in the southwest Gulf of Mexico, before moving west to Mexico and South Texas, according to the National Weather Service. The system could produce moderate flooding along the Texas coast.
Locally, rain is expected to begin Tuesday, move through Wednesday and then clear out by Thursday, according to Matt Lanza, meteorologist and editor for Space City Weather. The entire region will get rain with the worst of it expected south of Houston.
“Right now, we feel like the line of more significant rain is going to be to the south of Houston and potentially more around Corpus Christi,” Lanza said. “We are cautiously optimistic that the worst will stay to the south of Houston like Galveston County and Brazoria County, but that said, there’s still a lot of uncertainty.”
Still, he said, localized street flooding remains a primary concern for parts of Houston south of Interstate 10.
Typically, a single storm can vary considerably when it comes to rainfall, according to Lanza. There are some spots that will get one to three inches of rain, which is manageable, but in other spots, the rain can jump to 4 to 8 inches. The difference in just an inch or two can cause a large impact.
This week, the moisture in the atmosphere is the highest the area will see in June, Lanza said. It is made worse by the hot Gulf Coast water, which has been nearly 90 degrees in recent weeks. The hot water will evaporate into the atmosphere, causing further moisture buildup.
Mark Sloan, Harris County Homeland Security and Emergency Management coordinator, said county officials are closely monitoring the system and is in “constant communication” with local partners and meteorologists. However, he is not anticipating any catastrophic damage.
OEM workers listen in during a storm preparation press conference in Houston on Monday, June 17, 2024. (Mark Felix for Houston Landing) 
Stephen Williams, Director of Houston Health Department, listens while the mayor speaks during a storm preparation press conference on Monday, June 17, 2024, in Houston. (Mark Felix for Houston Landing) 
Chief Samuel Peña, Houston Fire Department, addresses the media during a storm preparation press conference on Monday, June 17, 2024, in Houston. (Mark Felix for Houston Landing) 
Angela Blanchard, Disaster and Recovery Advisor, addresses the media during a storm preparation press conference on Monday, June 17, 2024, in Houston. (Mark Felix for Houston Landing) 
Chief Thomas Muñoz, Acting Director of the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security, talks to the media during a storm preparation press conference in Houston on Monday, June 17, 2024. (Mark Felix for Houston Landing)
At a gathering of city officials at the Houston Office of Emergency Management on Monday, Mayor John Whitmire told residents to prepare for this week’s rain event but said he wanted to avoid unnecessary anxiety about the coming rainfall.
“We learned from the derecho that you always have to be prepared,” Whitmire said, citing last month’s storm that left 900,000 people without power for days as high winds 65 to 70 mph tore through Houston.
The city Department of Public Works still is working to clear ditches, culverts and other drainage infrastructure of debris left by the May derecho, Whitmire said.
Reporters Paul Cobler and McKenna Oxenden contributed to this story.
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