Tracking high water in the Bayou City

During the next heavy rain, you can monitor the potential for flooding in our local bayous, as well as the local rivers.

The National Weather Service along with the National Ocean Service is now tracking the water level in Buffalo Bayou, Cypress Creek, the West Fork of the San Jacinto River. This is in addition to the monitoring sites along White Oak Bayou, Greens Bayou, and the Trinity, San Bernard and Brazos Rivers.

The interactive map shows the current flood status of our local waterways and provides a link to very detailed information about the height and flow of the water at each location. And the data is updated every 15 minutes!

Funnel cloud over Pearland

The funnel cloud seen dangling over Pearland on Saturday got a lot of people's attention! Many of you sent us photos of the little vortex. The photo to the right was taken by Eyewitness News viewer Carlos Rosas.

The National Weather Service tells me the funnel cloud did not touch down, according to reports from the Pearland police department.

Margaret Plummer had a different view. She wrote:

"My family was outside the Bass Pro Shop when the funnel cloud first appeared at Highways 288 and 8.  We watched it touch down in a line of trees just north of 8 and saw the debris rise into the air in a swirling pattern.  We immediately drove south on 288, the same direction as the cloud.  The wind was swirling and we saw the roping funnel cloud, but cannot confirm it touched down again."

Swirling debris would indicate the rotation did reach the ground.

Here are some other photos sent in by Eyewitness News viewers:

Linda Menchaca shot this picture at 6 PM on Roy Road in Brookside Village.

weatherblog.abc13.com

weatherblog.abc13.com

The storm might have produced more than one funnel cloud. Katherine and Danny Medrano tell me before the picture to the right was taken, "another funnel had touched down briefly next to this one."

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Cecile Ruffino said he saw the funnel cloud near Shadow Creek Ranch (photo to the left.)

Despite the numerous sightings of the funnel cloud, there does not appear to be any damage caused by this specific storm.

However, there was some damage reported in the South Glen subdivision on Saturday. Several mobile homes were damaged and some large tree limbs were down. The National Weather Service says this damage was caused by straight line thunderstorm winds, not a tornado.

Slow moving cool front keeps rain in the Houston forecast

Usually when you see a cool front on the weather map, it's moving fairly quickly. Not so this week.

The cool front sitting across Texas right now is parallel with the jet stream winds in the upper atmosphere so it's barely moving. Furthermore, a deep low pressure in the upper atmosphere over New Mexico is also sending out small disturbances which move along the front and keep it active with periods of rain and thunderstorms.

One round of severe weather moved across southeast Texas early Wednesday. Trees were knocked down in Burleson, Walker and San Jacinto counties. Heavy rain got as far south as northern Harris County, but most of the city and those cities south of I-10 got only light rain, if even that.

Because of this slow moving front, there's still a chance of severe thunderstorms on Thursday. Heavy rain and large hail are likely. There's also the slight risk of a few funnel clouds.  Most of the computer models are forecasting drier conditions for Friday. Our exclusive FutureTrack still shows additional rain in the area of Friday. So the ABC13 forecast calls for a 40% chance of leftover thundershowers.

Heavy Rain Ahead

Updated Tuesday Afternoon:

I'm still expecting some heavy rain on Wednesday and Thursday. The showers are developing along a slow moving cool front which should push through Houston on Thursday.

Storms that develop ahead and along the cool front could produce heavy rain. Given the amount of moisture in the air, most of us will probably get about 2" of rain over the next few days. Some isolated locations could have twice that amount.

There's also the possibility of some large hail and damaging winds with these storms. Isolated tornadoes are possible, but not likely, in the Houston area.

Previous Discussion Follows:

A shift in the jet stream will bring a slow-moving storm this way by midweek.

Scattered showers will develop on Tuesday as a warm front surges northward across the the area. The rain starts in earnest on Wednesday and Thursday with a cool front pushing this direction. Low pressure in the upper atmosphere will keep the weather active with repeated storms moving along the front.

A north wind on Friday should reduce the chance of rain. But I'm concerned about another upper level storm setting up west of us which could bring even more rain.  I'm forecasting dry weather for Saturday at this time, but that could change depending on how the storm develops later this week.

Stay up with this forecast this week. While many parts of southeast Texas are still pretty dry, several hours of rain could saturate the ground and cause some isolated flooding problems.

Storm Spotters are 4 years old!

The Eyewitness Storm Spotters have been reporting the weather in their neighborhood for four years now! It is still the only network of volunteer weather observers on TV in southeast Texas.

About 35 communities are well represented by folks who love the sound of thunder and don't mind running outside during a storm to see how much is in the rain gauge. In addition to rainfall reports, the Spotters also call ABC13 whenever they spot severe weather or when wind damage or flooding are reported in their area.  The Storm Spotters are the eyes and ears of our weather team, allowing us to monitor the weather in locations outside of Houston.

While we have many areas well covered, there are still a few spots open. If you love tracking the weather and see an open spot on the map above, send me an email!  I'll tell you more about the Storm Spotter program and you can decide whether you'd like to put your town on the map.  You can write me at tim.heller@abc.com

Thanks to all the Storm Spotters who serve their communities so well! You are another reason ABC13 is Houston's Severe Weather Leader.

New Tornado Watch, But...

Tornado Watch #131 has been allowed to expire, and Tornado Watch #133 has been issued to account for the eastward progression of the thunderstorms.

Several counties in southeast Texas are included in the watch, but it appears that the threat for tornadic development has already passed for Houston.  Why?  Because the storms have already moved through.

To our knowledge, not a single tornado developed in the area outlined by Tornado Watch #131, a tornado watch labeled a "particularly dangerous situation" by the Storm Prediction Center. The atmosphere certainly had the potential to produce strong, long-lived tornadoes, but this clearly did not happen today.

Some will take this information and say, "There they go crying wolf again," while others will say, "Thanks for keeping us informed. I'm so glad that no tornadoes developed."

Stormy Tuesday for Spring Breakers

A Tornado Watch is in effect for Houston, Galveston and much of southeast Texas until 7pm.  We’re expecting strong to severe storms to form across our area this afternoon and evening.  Isolated tornadoes, damaging straight line winds, large hail and heavy rain are possible with the strongest storms.  A Wind Advisory is also in effect for our area until 4pm.

We’re expecting wind speeds of 20-30mph, with gusts up to 35mph.  We’re still expecting a severe weather across our area this afternoon.  The Storm Prediction Center still includes Houston and southeast Texas in a Moderate Risk area for severe storms.  Our biggest threats will be isolated tornadoes, heavy rain, damaging straight line winds, and large hail.  We are expecting a severe weather watch to be issued for our area shortly.

When a moderate risk is issued, the outlined area is expected to be hit with one or more of the following kinds of severe weather:

• 6-19 tornadoes
• +30 high wind events
• +30 reports of hail one inch in diamater or greater

We expect a damaging squall line to develop over the Hill Country tomorrow morning.  As it pushes east, a few supercell thunderstorms may pop up ahead of the line.  These rotating storms will produce the greatest threat for tornadoes, and our exclusive FutureTrack computer model shows that the cap will be weak enough for these dangerous storms to develop between 7AM and 2PM. The squall line is expected to move through Houston between 6PM and 9PM, and when that happens, the severe weather threat will transition to heavy rains and high winds.

Track the storms online with MegaDoppler 13

Watch a live stream of our Mega Doppler 13 radar

Click here for a map showing all active watches and warnings in the area.

Read about how to keep your family safe from the storms.

Now for the good news: our forecast calls for lots of spring break sunshine Wednesday through Saturday.

Want to see how the weather's affecting air travel? Check the status of flights in and out of Houston

1. Track Flight by Number
2. Track Flight by City
3. Track Airport Status
4. Security Wait Time
5. Departing from [Houston Hobby]
6. Arriving to [Houston Hobby]
7. Departing from [Houston Int.]
8. Arriving to [Houston Int.]

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This information is always available on your web-enabled cell phone or PDA at abc13now.com

SkyWarn meeting in Rosenberg

The National Weather Service will be holding a SkyWarn training class Monday, March 17 at the Fort Bend County Annex Building in Rosenberg. The meeting is from 6:30-9:30 PM. And it's free!

SkyWarn volunteers help the National Weather Service during severe weather by reporting hail, wind damage and flooding.  While radar can be used to identify storms which are capable of producing severe weather, it helps to have an eyewitness report to confirm what the radar is showing.

Storm warnings are often issued based on reports relayed from trained spotters. Here's your chance to get involved...and help your community.

Staying safe with NOAA weather radio

It is estimated that about 100,000 thunderstorms develop in the United States each year. But only 10% of these are classified “severe” with hail over ¾” in diameter and/or winds over 59 mph. It is only when a storm becomes this strong does the National Weather Service issue a “Severe Thunderstorm Warning.”

When that happens, an alarm goes off in the weather office at ABC13. Computers automatically create a map and prepare the text that will “crawl” along the bottom of your TV screen. It takes just a few seconds to get the information on-the-air.

You can also keep up with the changing weather with a NOAA weather radio. These special radios only pick up broadcasts from the National Weather Service. They can be programmed to sound alarm whenever a storm warning is issued for your area. This is very helpful when storms develop while you sleep; the alarm is loud enough to wake you up from a deep sleep. You can buy a weather radio at most electronics stores.

Click here for more information on how to program your NOAA weather radio to pick up warnings in the Houston area.

Tornado Watch until 6 PM

The Storm Prediction Center has placed part of southeast Texas under a Tornado Watch until 6 PM Thursday. This includes the cities of Houston and Galveston.

Click here for a map showing all active watches and warnings.

Strong thunderstorms are developing ahead of a slow moving cold front. Some of the storms could produce large hail and damaging winds. There is also enough wind shear in the lower atmosphere for some isolated storms to produce tornadoes.

The rain could also be heavy tonight. 2-3" of rain will fall in many locations. Flooding could occurs in spots with poor drainage.

I expect the showers to end shortly after midnight. It will stay cloudy and cold, however. Temperature on Friday will be in the 40s most of the day. But gusty north winds blowing 20-30 mph will make it feel like the 30s.

Want to see how the weather's affecting air travel? Check the status of flights below

This information is always available on your web-enabled cell phone or PDA at abc13now.com

Tornado Watch until 9 PM

Updated Thursday afternoon:

The thunderstorms that are developing over southeast Texas are not that big. Our exclusive RadarXray shows storm tops only extend 20-30,000 feet above the ground. The image to the right shows a slice of the thunderstorms and the precipitation inside the core of the individual cells. The first line represents 20,000 feet with 10,000 foot steps above that. Although you can't see it in this image, we also have the ability to move the Xray slice to check for hail aloft.

Our analysis shows there's still a lot of instability across the area, but there's not much wind shear in southeast Texas. There is more twisting within the atmosphere across Louisiana where there have been a few tornadoes this afternoon. We expect some isolated reports of hail could come from the storms that are developing. But the threat of tornadoes is minimal.

There is still a Tornado Watch for the eastern part of the ABC13 viewing area until 9 PM tonight.

Strong thunderstorm are developing in the warm, humid air this afternoon. Some of the storms will strengthen quickly and could produce large hail and damaging winds. A cool front moving through this evening will reduce the chance of severe weather.

Track the storms online with MegaDoppler 13.

Click here for a map showing all active watches and warnings in the area.

Thunder on Thursday

A surge of warm, moist air blew into the Houston area on Wednesday. Showers fell for most of the day, with isolated thunder every now and then. Some of your Eyewitness Storm Spotters reported 1-2" of rain.

On Thursday, a cold front will push in from the north. The collision of the warm, moist air along the leading edge of that colder air will produce stronger thunderstorms, some of which could be severe. The Storm Prediction Center has put us under a "slight risk" for large hail and damaging winds. There's also the possibility of isolated tornadoes Thursday afternoon and evening from some of the stronger storms that develop ahead of the cold front.

While some rain might linger into early Friday, we should clear out by midday with good weather all the way through the weekend!

Post-analysis of Saturday's weather

One of the most frustrating severe weather features to forecast is "the cap," the layer of warmer air aloft that suppresses thunderstorm development. Everything can be in place for a storm outbreak, but if the cap holds you get nothing. Saturday's forecast for "supercell thunderstorms...capable of producing tornadoes" was based on overwhelming forecast guidance that suggested the upper atmosphere would cool with the approach of the upper low and the cap would erode during the late afternoon hours, during maximum heating. That would allow rapid intensification of developing storms.

But the cap held. And the supercell thunderstorms did not develop as feared.

We also believe the cap might have been stronger than the forecast models were indicating because of the cooling effect of the storms that developed late Friday. The strong cap also kept us cloudy early Saturday. Without peeks of sunshine, our temperatures were not as warm as we forecast, therefore the atmosphere was not as unstable.

Then there was the cold front. You might have noticed that there were a lot of storms developing behind the cold front. Our analysis late Saturday showed two cold fronts!  One near the ground and another about 5,000 feet above the ground. It appears the shallow cold air near the surface was rushing ahead.  Strong thunderstorms were developing along the surface cold front, but they weren't very tall. Radar analysis showed cloud tops were only 30-35,000 feet. Again, the storms seemed to be hitting the warm air aloft. At this point, I wrote on the weather blog that the threat of tornadoes was diminishing.

The Storm Prediction Center doesn't put southeast Texas in a "moderate risk" area very often; this is more common in tornado alley. If the cap had broken, all other weather elements were in place for a significant severe weather outbreak. But like every major weather system, if even one of the elements is out of place or fails to develop, the outcome can be very different.

Your invitation to join SkyWarn

The National Weather Service SkyWarn program gives you an opportunity to be part of the severe weather warning process. Doppler radar can detect dangerous twisting winds inside thunderstorms, but it takes a trained storm spotter to provide “ground truth,” to verify when and where severe weather is developing.

“The SkyWarn program is designed to train interested citizens to be the eyes of the National Weather Service,” said Gene Hafele, the severe warning coordinator at the Houston-Galveston National Weather Service office. Reports from storm spotters often trigger a weather warning.

If you’re interested in being a SkyWarn storm spotter, you’ll need to attend one of the upcoming training sessions. On February 21, the Clear Lake Amateur Radio Club will host a training session between 6:30-9:00 PM.  Another session will be held at the Fort Bend County Annex building on March 17 from 6:30-9:00 PM.

15% chance of a tornado today

Updated Saturday evening:

A Tornado Watch continues for all of southeast Texas. There is still the possibility of severe storms tonight with a few tornadoes. But the cold front is advancing across the area and once the temperature falls in your neighborhood, the threat of tornadoes will diminish. There is very heavy rain falling behind the front, however, and there could still be some large hail and damaging winds throughout the evening.

The "cap" helped protect us today. That thin layer of warm air aloft prevented the showers ahead of the cold front from developing into supercell thunderstorms. The cloudy sky also helped by limiting daytime heating and instability.

Again, storms will continue this evening, but the threat of tornadoes is diminishing with the advancement of the cold front.

Click here for a map showing all the watches and warnings in effect right now.

Stay safe. Click here for our online severe weather guide.

The discussion below is from earlier today.

The Storm Prediction Center still has us under a "moderate risk" of severe weather today. To emphasize the threat of dangerous thunderstorms, a special Severe Weather Outlook was issued this morning. The statement stresses again that "the storms could produce a few strong tornadoes, in addition to destructive outflow winds and very large hail."

The SPC breaks it down even more. Today in southeast Texas there is a 45% chance of damaging winds, a 30% chance or large hail and a 15% chance of a significant tornado, ranked EF-2 or higher. Those odds might not sound very high. But considering we usually have a .2% chance of a tornado this time of year, the possibility of a twister today is 75 times greater than usual.

The cold front is getting a little closer to Houston. If you look at the map to the left, you'll see that it was 68° in Houston at 8AM and 52° in College Station. We'll probably hit the mid 70s this afternoon before the cold front arrives later tonight. Right now the front has stalled because it's running parallel with upper level winds. But a storm in the upper atmosphere will kick it eastward tonight.

The upper level low is now in El Paso. That's the swirl you see on this water vapor satellite image to the right. The low is moving quickly. It will be centered near San Angelo by 6 PM tonight. The winds ahead of the circulation spread out, or diverge which enhances updraft strength. There is also a significant change in the wind direction from the ground through the mid-atmosphere. This wind shear will encourage developing storms to rotate.

Before that cold front arrives later tonight, strong thunderstorms will develop across southeast Texas this afternoon. These isolated, rotating storms are called "supercells" by meteorologists. These are the types of storms that can produce strong tornadoes. We don't see too many supercells in the Houston area. You can understand, perhaps, why the threat of tornadoes is higher today.

Put it all together and you have (1) supercell thunderstorms this afternoon capable of producing tornadoes and (2) a squall line of severe storms along the cold front tonight.

The storms will be moving quickly once they develop. That will require quick action on your part. You can monitor MegaDoppler 13 with our exclusive county-by-county radar maps online and on your web-enabled cellphone. Just type in www.abc13.com

To read a previous discussion and reader comments about this weather system, click here.

Severe weather likely on Saturday

Updated Friday evening:

Scattered thunderstorms will move across southeast Texas overnight. Some could produce large hail and damaging winds. While isolated severe storms are possible overnight, the threat of severe weather increases on Saturday.

There is a moderate risk of severe weather in southeast Texas on Saturday. The ABC13 forecast calls for a 100% chance of thunderstorms on Saturday. There is a 45% chance of tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds during the afternoon and evening hours. There is a greater threat of tornadoes than we normally experience here in southeast Texas.

A "moderate risk" means at least 30 reports of large hail will probably develop within the designated area. 6-19 tornadoes and/or more than 30 reports of damaging winds are also likely. Based on our analysis, we believe there's a possibility the Storm Prediction Center might upgrade this threat to a "high risk" Saturday morning. A "high risk" implies an even greater threat of severe weather with violent tornadoes.

Warm, moist air will be blowing into the area on Friday. A few showers could develop today, but the real action will take place ahead and along the front on Saturday. The atmosphere will be capped by a layer of warm air aloft and that should limit the number of storms that initially develop. However, once the cap weakens and storms begin to pop, they will strengthen very quickly. There will be a strong southeast wind blowing into the area with upper level winds blowing from the southwest. This change of wind direction with height will cause some of these storms to rotate. Supercells that develop Saturday afternoon could produce tornadoes within the Houston area.

Eventually the storms will merge with a squall line that will be developing along the cold front Saturday night. There's a possibility those storms could also produce tornadoes, although large hail and damaging winds will be the primary threat.

The fast changing weather this weekend might require you to take fast action. I urge you to continue to monitor the weather on-air and on-line at www.abc13.com.

Midday storms produce minor damage

PICS: Damage from today's storm in Pasadena

The squall line of thunderstorms hit Houston right on schedule. Compare the observed satellite and radar image to the left with our exclusive FutureTrack forecast shown on the blog yesterday.

Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for the line of storms as it crossed southeast Texas. Winds blew over 50 mph at Hobby Airport when the storms passed. Vernon Reed our Storm Spotter in Kingwood reported pea size hail. Law enforcement officers reported 3/4" hail in Anahuac.

Some minor wind damage was reported by David Taylor, editor of the Pasadena Citizen, one of our Houston Community Newspaper partners. Trees and power lines were knocked down in that area by the storm and a few buildings had roof damage, seen here on the right.

At the time the storms hit, our MegaDoppler13 was showing shear markers just north of Highway 225. The red shear marker indicates strong wind shear and/or circulation in the lower part of the thunderstorm. I spoke with the National Weather Service about the damage in Pasadena. At the time of this post, they had not received any reports of tornadoes. The damage shown above and on 13 Eyewitness News was most likely caused by straight line thunderstorm winds which can be stronger and produce more damage then some weaker tornadoes.

Severe storms tonight and early Tuesday

There are two thunderstorm threats over the next 24 hours.

An upper level low pressure is lifting moisture across the area tonight. The storms are getting stronger and the atmosphere is becoming a little more unstable. The Storm Prediction Center is monitoring the storms and will issue a storm watch if necessary. The main threat from the storms tonight would be large hail.

Another round of thunder is possible early Tuesday when the cold front pushes across the area. While scattered thundershowers could develop early in the day, the main show will be along the cold front. We expect the front to move into College Station, Huntsville and Lufkin about 8AM in the morning. The cold front will be moving into Wharton, Houston and Liberty about 11 AM. Storms will clear Palacios, Galveston and the coast by 2 PM.

The storms on Tuesday could also produce some large hail as well as damaging winds. Again, a weather watch might be necessary.

The weather will be quiet for a couple of days. Windy, wet weather returns at the end of the week.

Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak

Over two dozen people were killed on Tuesday when a cluster of tornadoes touched down in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky. This was part of the same storm system that produce a small and harmless line of storms in the Houston area.

There were over 300 reports of severe weather in the mid-Mississippi Valley. Golf ball and softball size hail was also reported across the area. Meanwhile, just north of the severe weather, heavy snow was falling in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa.

An active jet stream pattern was responsible for producing these weather extremes. The dip in the upper air wind flow over the Rockies, was caused by a deep area of low pressure that helped trigger the storms along the front edge of colder air near the ground.

The year is starting off stormy. As of the end of January, the number of tornadoes reported is over four times greater than the three year average.

Cool front on Tuesday

The temperature and humidity is climbing ahead of a cool front pushing into Texas. That front will produce a line of thunderstorms as it pushes eastward on Tuesday. Most of the severe weather will be in Louisiana, Arkansas and states east of Texas.

Our analysis indicates there is a slight risk that some of the storms could produce large hail and damaging winds when they reach the Houston area.  There is also a slight risk of localized flooding where some of the heavier rain falls.  That said, the line of storms will probably be a broken line so there might also be a few spots where you hear thunder, but get no rain.

Our exclusive FutureTrack shows the cool front and squall line reaching the Houston area between 6-10 PM Tuesday. There will probably be a few showers ahead of the front, but expect most of the action to hold off until evening. The sky will clear behind the storms, leaving us with great weather for the rest of the week.

Rush hour thunder on Thursday

Strong thunderstorms are likely early Thursday morning, and there's a possibility some of the storms could be severe. The main threat will be large hail and damaging winds. Strong rotation within the lower atmosphere caused by gusty winds could also allow a few tornadoes to form.

The first showers will develop in the warm, humid air after midnight. Additional storms will develop ahead of the cold front throughout the morning rush hour. The sky will quickly clear after the cold front passes between 9 AM and Noon.

Track the storms online and on your cellphone with our million-watt MegaDoppler 13, the most powerful radar in southeast Texas.

Severe weather in January

A strong cold front produced severe weather across the Midwest this week, killing five people. The Storm Prediction Center lists almost two dozen tornado reports on Monday alone, most of them in Missouri and Illinois.

Heavy rain along with melting snow caused flooding in several states. Two children drowned when the car their mother was driving plunged into flood water. Another person died when a tornado flipped their trailer in Arkansas. Over 50 homes in Wheatland, Wisconsin were damaged by a tornado.

The cold front produced a few showers in Texas when it blew through on Tuesday, but none of the storms were severe. The same front will ease back to the north on Thursday and produce a few showers near the coast and across East Texas.

AP Photo: Eddy Montville/Rockford Register Star

Severe storms possible

The weather pattern is very active right now. We have a chance of thundershowers in the forecast tonight and early Thursday. There's a possibility some of the stronger storms could produce some large hail and damaging winds. Isolated tornadoes are also possible but are more of a threat for areas east of Houston.

I expect another round of storms on Saturday. That  system is tracking a littler farther south and has some colder air behind it.

Then another smaller storm moves across Texas on Monday, Christmas Eve. Expect a chance of rain about every 2-3 days for the next week or so.

Houston tornado outbreak anniversary

This year marks the fifteen anniversary of one of the “most dramatic” tornado outbreaks in Houston history. At least six tornadoes touched down on November 21, 1992. At one point, three tornadoes were on the ground at the same time!

The strongest tornado was ranked an F-4 which means the winds were probably blowing over 200 mph. This tornado touched down near Channelview and continued on the ground, through several neighborhoods for about 12 miles. The damage path was about a mile wide in some areas. Another tornado touched down near Katy and was on the ground for 19 miles. Rice University was damaged by a tornado that stayed on the ground for 11 miles.

Damage was scattered all around the area, yet the National Weather Service reports no one was killed.

Photo of Channelview damage from Tim Marshall, copyright 1993.

Great balls of lightning in Spring

A family in southeast Texas was surprised when a weird weather phenomena appeared inside their home last week. They asked me to keep their names private. Here's how one family member describes the scene:

A bad thunderstorm came through the Spring area last week and knocked out the lights. My eight year old daughter, my mother and my father were in the kitchen area of the house. All of the electricity in the house was off and it was quite dark inside due to the heavy rain and cloud cover.

My mother and daughter said all of sudden the whole dining room and kitchen area lit up very bright. My daughter said that she saw a bright wiggling light about two feet long, that looked like it was floating right above and behind my father. My mother also said that she saw it floating and making bright flashes for a couple of seconds. She was definitely sure that it was in the house and it didn't last long. My daughter stated that at first it was a ball, then it stretched out. She also stated that she smelled a light smell of something burning.

From what I understand my father did not see it because he was standing and facing away from the object. My father did say that he saw the reflections of the flashes of light on the walls. I don't think that it lasted more than five seconds.

The mysterious light was probably ball lightning, a form of lightning that is not completely understood. According to Scientific American magazine, ball lightning "suddenly materializes either indoors or outdoors or enters a room through a closed or open window, through thin nonmetallic walls or through the chimney."

Lightning is lightning; all forms are dangerous. Luckily for our family in Spring, no one was injured and there was no damage to their home.

Here we go again...

Does this sound familiar?

Low pressure in the upper atmosphere is parked over Texas and will produce pockets of heavy rain every day through the holiday weekend. This is similar to the weather pattern that brought us heavy rain in June and July.

Almost 47" of rain has fallen in Houston this year. That's almost 16" above normal. Any one of the storms that develop this week, could put another 1-3" of rain in gauge. The heavy showers could also cause some isolated street flooding. Although the chance of rain drops this weekend, the showers that do develop could still be heavy.

If you're traveling for Labor Day, get the forecast for your destination on our main weather page. Just enter the city name or zip code into the "Personal Forecast" section.

Texas Rainfall Totals

July 2007 will be one for the record books. So far, it's been the seventh wettest July on record in Houston, with almost three times our normal rainfall. More rain is expected so we'll probably move a little higher in the list before the month is over.

Other parts of Texas haven't been nearly as wet this month. Most locations in west Texas have had less two inches of rain. But this has been the second wettest July on record in San Antonio where almost a foot of rain has fallen. Corpus Christi normally only gets about two inches of rain in July; this year they've had more than nine times that amount!

During our 6 PM newscast, we reported that farmers in southeast Texas risk losing more than half their crops this year due because of the heavy rain this month and last.

Lightning and iPods

According to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, a Canadian jogger was burned when lightning traveled through the wires of his music player. The runner had wish-bone shaped burns on his chest and neck, his eardrums were ruptured and he also suffered a broken jaw from the jolt.

Even if you're not running with an iPod plugged into your head, it's never a good idea to be outdoors during a lightning storm. The Associated Press reports emergency room physicians are seeing more and more patients with burns from freak accidents while using cellphones, beepers, music players and laptop computers outdoors during storms.

While researching this story, I ran across a website for an organization of individuals who have been struck by lightning. I hope you never have a reason to join.

Southeast Texas Flood Photos

Rain, rain, go away!  Persistent heavy rains have left many of us waterlogged, and that has put a real strain on our drainage networks, both natural and man-made.  Josh Fraizer sent us this photo of the Tres Palacios Creek in El Campo after the storms rolled through this morning.  Because of the rain, the creek is running about 10-15 feet deep!

So far we have been spared from any major flooding problems, but that has not been the case for our neighbors to the north.  Extremely moist air will combine with that pesky upper low out west to generate more heavy rains in the coming days.  Flooding will be a problem for some, especially near the swollen creeks, rivers, and lakes.

If you can safely snap a weather photo, there's always an open invitation to send it in.  Or you can stay dry the next time it rains and enjoy some of the photos viewers have already submitted.

Rain Chances Increase This Weekend

At this time last week we were forecasting an area of tropical moisture to move into Texas and increase our chance for heavy rain.  The rains came and moved into central Texas, capturing national headlines with the devastating floods that have occurred over the past couple of days. 

The tropical moisture is what fueled these drenching storms, and it appears that a fresh batch of deep, tropical moisture will move into southeast Texas starting late Saturday.  Heavy rains could eventually lead to flooding problems here, so be sure to keep a close eye on the forecast.

Hill Country Flooding

Heavy thunderstorms last night dropped excessive rain across north Texas and throughout the Hill Country. The rain started about 10 PM Tuesday and fell throughout early Wednesday morning. The San Gabriel River north of Austin rose twelve feet in just one hour!  About twenty people were rescued from trees and rooftops as they tried to escape the flash flooding.

Here are some of the rainfall totals reported by the National Weather Service as of 7 AM:

• Marble Falls 19.05"
• Kingsland 9.18"
• Wichita Falls 7.11"
• Kempner 5.12"
• Dallas 4.02"
• Fort Worth 3.90"
• Weatherford 3.65"

Perhaps even more amazing, only .07" of rain fell in Austin!

Unfortunately, more rain is in the forecast for that area tonight and tomorrow.  Our exclusive Raincast indicates about five inches of rain could fall through Friday afternoon. Some locations could have even more.

While most people get their weather information from traditional media, this storm developed during the overnight hours. Unless folks in central Texas were awake and watching TV or listening to the radio, they were caught completely unprepared for the quick rising flood waters.  A NOAA Weather Radio sounds an alarm whenever local warnings are issued. Even heavy sleepers will jolt out of bed when the alarm goes off. You can buy one of these at most electronics stores.

Lightning Spoils Outdoor Fun

I got an email last week from a viewer who was disappointed that her community pool kept closing due to lightning.  She wondered if the property managers weren't over-reacting.  I tried to assure her that getting everyone out of the pool when lightning is nearby is in everyone's best interest.

The rule of thumb is if you can count to 30 or less between the flash of lightning and the rumble of thunder then you're close enough to be in danger.  My rule of thumb is if you can see the lightning you should get out of the water.  I take no chances.

The Miami Herald recently ran an article about a man who was killed from lightning that struck out of a seemingly clear blue sky. The storm that generated the lightning bolt was several miles away and traveled horizontally through the sky before bending toward the ground and hitting the man.

Galveston Water Spout

John Lester's wife surprised him with a flight on a WWII B25 Bomber for his birthday. He was surprised again by what he saw out the window of the plane just as they were getting ready to land in Galveston this past Saturday. John is a retired Air Force weather observer so he is familiar with waterspouts.  But he says, "You don't get a chance to see many of these from the air."

The weather pattern we're in could produce more waterspouts or weak funnel clouds the next couple of days. If the tiny twisters touch down over land they usually produce minimal damage but should be taken seriously nonetheless.

Texas City Funnel Clouds

                                                                              

A funnel cloud formed Saturday afternoon over Texas City. Robert Hasserd captured these photos with his camera phone. The funnel formed about 2:30 PM and lasted about 5 minutes. There was no report of any damage.

Send us your photos when you see wild weather. We might feature your photo during 13 Eyewitness News or add it to our online gallery.

Lightning Safety

Our spring and summer thunderstorms can produce a lot of thunder and lightning. ABC13 uses a sophisticated lightning detection system to map the exact location of every cloud-to-ground lightning strike. We’ve discovered that squall lines can produce over 20,000 lightning strikes across the area. Even small thunderstorms have been known to produce a few thousand lightning strikes. And we often detect lightning where it is not raining, miles away from the nearest thunderstorm.

Since this is also the season for outdoor activities, it’s even more important to be aware of storms building on the horizon. Take shelter at the first sign of lightning or the first sound of thunder. The easiest was to protect yourself is to get inside, out of the weather. Take shelter in your home or any nearby building. Your car can also provide some shelter. Never take shelter near a tall object like a tree, power pole or a flag pole. Tall objects act like lightning rods and attract lightning, increasing the chance you could be hit.

Earlier this month, four people were injured at Bear Creek Park when they took shelter from the rain under a small tree. Lightning hit the tree and the spark was strong enough to peel away the bark as the electrical charge traveled toward the ground. One in the group suffered serious injures, the others were taken to a hospital and released.

Greensburg, KS Tornado

The pictures of the tornado damage in Greensburg, Kansas are incredibly sad. Homes completely demolished, trees ripped of all the leaves, and debris that covers many, many city blocks. The National Weather Service says the tornado was about a mile and a half wide and was on the ground for about 22 miles. Locals estimate about 90% of the town is gone. Yet they vow to rebuild. Nine people died in that tornado but looking at the damage it's amazing more people didn't die. The tornado warning was issued early and people in the path of the storm took appropriate shelter.

Based on the damage, the National Weather Service ranked this tornado an EF5 on the enhanced Fujita tornado damage scale. The winds were probably blowing over 200 mph. (There were no actual measurements of the wind in this tornado; wind speed was estimated based on the damage.) Fortunately, storms of this size are rare. The last time a major EF5 tornado developed was on May 3, 1999 in Moore, Oklahoma. By comparison, the tornado that touched down in New Caney a couple of weeks ago was ranked an EF0 on the other end of the damage scale. Winds were estimated to be about 65-85 mph in the New Caney twister.

Photo by Jaime Oppenheimer/The Wichita Eagle

Straight Line Winds

A couple of weeks ago a line of thunderstorms blew thru the Houston and damage was reported across the area. There were reports of roof damage, trees down, fences knocked over and power outages. Many of the reports received from the public indicated damage in their area was caused by a tornado. Yet no one reported actually seeing a tornado. There wasn’t any rotation observed on Doppler radar.  No tornado warnings were issued.

The type of storms that developed that morning produced straight line thunderstorm winds. These powerful downbursts can actually be stronger than a tornado and occur more often. Straight line winds can also produce damage over a wide swath. This is why we interrupt programming when a severe thunderstorm warning is issued. A storm is considered “severe” when large hail is reported or detected by radar, and when winds are expected to blow over 60 mph. As we have seen, that is strong enough to produce damage. We need to take severe thunderstorms as seriously as we take tornadoes.

Family Tornado Drill

This is the time of year when our sky can go from sunny to stormy in a matter of hours. Spring is a transitional season. Strong southerly winds start to bring back rich, Gulf moisture which collides with occasional cool fronts rushing in from the north. The result can be hail, straight line thunderstorm winds, tornadoes and flooding.

The easiest way to protect yourself from these storms is to stay inside. You should try and find a location near the interior of the building, with no outside doors and windows. This is true whether you’re seeking shelter at home, work, school, etc.  If you have small children, I would encourage you to have a tornado drill at home. Knowing your family has a severe weather plan will give your kids some peace of mind the next time the sky starts to rumble.

Doppler Winds

The thunderstorms on Tuesday gave me a chance to try out the different scanning modes on our new MegaDopppler13. This image shows the movement of raindrops in relation to the radar. The shades of green indicate raindrops moving toward the radar while the red indicates raindrops moving away. The brighter the colors and the closer they are to each other, the tighter the rotation. This is the what "Doppler" radar is all about: the ability to see the wind.

After tracking the rotation on this storm for several minutes, I did a cutin warning residents of Fort Bend County about the possibilty of damaging winds. The National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning a few minutes later.

Stormy Spring Break

My NOAA weather radio went off at 5 AM this morning as a line of severe thunderstorms pushed toward the city. So much for sleeping in. It looks like the first few days of Spring Break will be stormy here in Houston. No, it won't rain all the time. But when it does, it will likely pour! Just a reminder that you can check MegaDoppler13 on your web enabled cellphone at www.abc13now.com.

New Tornado Intensity Scale

Thirty six years ago, Dr. Theodore devised a scale that estimated the wind speed in a tornado based on the damage. The "Fujita Scale" was subjective and usually overestimated wind speeds in larger tornadoes. Then again, if a large tornado touched down in an open field and produced no damage there was no way to rank it.

This spring, a new Enhanced Fujita Scale goes into effect. Developed by a team of engineers and meteorologists including Dr. Fujita, the new scale estimates the wind gusts in a tornado based on the total damage, with consideration to how well the buildings are constructed. An EF0 tornado would have wind gusts estimated 65-85 mph. The top of the scale is still an EF5 with wind gusts estimated to be over 200 mph.

Click here to learn more about the new Enhanced Fujita Scale.