Now that Harvey has moved inland, the weakening stage is ongoing. There is no doubt that the stories and images we will see come out of Rockport and surrounding communities where Harvey came ashore yesterday evening will be heartbreaking and harrowing. Of course, the initial landfall and wind threat is just the first phase of destruction for Harvey. Focus is now shifting to the tremendous flooding threat that a large portion of the Texas coastal plains will experience over the next several days. So let’s get to it…
As of 10AM, Hurricane Harvey has maximum sustained winds of 75 MPH making it a Category 1 hurricane. It is now crawling north at 2 MPH, and this slow speed is expected for at least the next 96 hours, as Harvey is forecast to meander around the Victoria/Port O’Connor/Corpus Area through at least Tuesday. Afterwards, Harvey should begin a North, Northeastward, or Eastward motion all the while continuing to dump copious amounts of rainfall over the region.
Rainfall amounts are already stacking up quickly. There’s at least one report of 16+ inches of rainfall near Victoria, Texas which also experienced at least Cat. 2 sustained winds (>95mph) last night. In the Houston Metro Area, several tornadoes have been reported, and rain bands have continued to train over the region. So far, areas SW of Houston have picked up anywhere from 6-10 inches, while much of the metro is in the 2-5 inch range. Flooding is expected, and these totals will start to reach into the teens and 20’s of inches, if not more, by Monday or Tuesday.
Here’s a look at Harvey on Radar, and you can see the rain bands slamming SE Texas. The one main rain band coming ashore goes all the way into the Gulf to Brownsville. Expect further rain band development and increasing areal coverage of the rainfall today/tonight.
Here’s a great synopsis of the threats from Harvey over the next 4 days from the Houston NWS Office.
Flash Flood watches and Warnings are in effect.
We’ve said this before, but if you live in a flood prone area and haven’t made plans to get out…your time to do so and get out, is about over. Do our emergency responders a favor and get out so they don’t have to risk their lives trying to save yours from the flood waters.
Lastly, conditions are in place for some of these storms to develop rotation and produce short lived tornadoes. Tornado watch in effect until 1PM today. Stay alert and listen to NOAA Weather Radio! You can access the Houston NOAA Weather Radio at www.saltwater-recon.com – on the right hand side bar below the Galveston Island Beach Patrol Surf Conditions Flag.
Stay safe, and TURN AROUND – DON’T DROWN!
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