Tropical Storm Imelda Weakened to Tropical Depression, Rain to Push Our Way

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Tropical Storm Imelda was downgraded to a Tropical Depression just after 6 p.m. Tuesday night.

Imelda is expected to inundate much of Southeast Texas with very heavy rain over the next few days. The storm made landfall near Freeport, bringing downpours and flash flooding.

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.

The depression is only crawling along at 5-10 mph. This slow movement is contributing to the flood threat.

The National Hurricane Center said Tuesday afternoon the system is "likely to produce life-threatening flash flooding along portions of the Upper Texas Coast, including the Houston and Galveston areas."

The tropical system had shown signs of circulation Tuesday morning, which raised concerns considering we're at the height of hurricane season and the gulf water is very warm.

While it did not persist long enough over open water to become a hurricane, it is certain to deposit a great deal of water in southeast Texas as it moves inland.

Flood Watches have been posted and some locations could see as much as 10 to 18 inches of rain in the Houston and Galveston areas.

As this system slowly moves north, our rain chances will increase here in North Texas. While rain is not guaranteed for everyone, the chances are looking better by Thursday and Friday, with the heaviest to the east and southeast of DFW. Some locations are still on track for 2 to 5 inches.

While DFW won’t see as much as those locations to the southeast, any amount will be welcome. So far, not a drop of rain has fallen this month at DFW Airport. The latest Drought Monitor shows much of the state is quite thirsty.

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Outdoors?

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