Houston under flood watch through Memorial Day May 25

Houston remained under a flood watch on Sunday, May 24, as repeated rounds of showers and thunderstorms threatened flooding across parts of southeast Texas through Memorial Day evening. The National Weather Service’s Houston/Galveston office said the watch covered coastal counties and warned that excessive runoff could flood creeks, streams and other low-lying locations. Click2Houston reported the watch had been expanded earlier in the weekend to include Houston and Harris County before later forecast updates narrowed the focus. Forecasters said the broader pattern of scattered storms and locally heavy rain was expected to continue into Monday evening. ### Which parts of the Houston area were still under the watch on Sunday? The National Weather Service said on May 24 that a flood watch remained in effect through Monday evening for counties along the immediate coast. The Houston/Galveston office listed impacts including flooding of creeks, streams and other flood-prone locations, and a preview page for the office named counties including Harris, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Galveston, Matagorda, Wharton and others in southeast Texas. (weather.gov) Earlier forecasts had covered a broader part of the region. Click2Houston said on May 22 that the flood watch was expanded to include Houston and Harris County as well as most of southeast Texas as the holiday weekend pattern developed. ### How long was the flood threat expected to last? The National Weather Service point forecast for the Houston area showed the flood watch in effect until 7 p.m. (weather.gov) Monday, May 25. Houston Public Media also reported that the weather service had issued a flood watch through 7 p.m. Monday for much of southeast Texas, including Harris, Fort Bend, Galveston and Montgomery counties. (click2houston.com) Click2Houston meteorologist Brittany Begley wrote on May 23 that the viewing area was under a flood watch until Monday at 7 p.m. and that some communities near the coast had already received more than 8 inches of rain. (forecast.weather.gov) ### What were forecasters warning people about? The National Weather Service said the main concern was excessive runoff that could trigger flooding in low-lying and flood-prone areas. The office’s hazard language also pointed to possible flooding of creeks and streams, while local coverage described risks for streets and urban neighborhoods if heavier downpours developed over the same locations. (click2houston.com) A Houston Public Media report published May 19 said projected rainfall totals for the weekend were at least 2 to 4 inches, according to the National Weather Service’s Houston/Galveston office. CW39 reported separately that rain totals of 4 inches or more were possible in some parts of the region through Monday. (weather.gov) ### Why did the forecast keep changing over the weekend? The National Weather Service said in its May 24 area forecast discussion that the flood watch had been “trimmed back” to coastal counties. That update followed earlier discussions and local television forecasts that described multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms shifting across southeast Texas, with the heaviest rain threat moving from one part of the region to another. (houstonpublicmedia.org) Click2Houston said on May 21 that some places had not received much rain yet, but warned that the risk was not over because more storms were expected before the end of the holiday weekend. ### What should residents watch next? Monday, May 25, is the next key point in the forecast because the current flood watch is set to run until 7 p.m. that evening. (forecast.weather.gov) The National Weather Service Houston/Galveston office is expected to issue updated advisories, radar forecasts and area discussions as conditions change, while local outlets including Click2Houston are continuing live forecast coverage for Houston and the surrounding counties. (weather.gov) (click2houston.com)