Greater Houston-area officials are monitoring conditions as a tropical system could bring heavy rainfall and the potential for flash flooding to the area as early as the morning of Sept. 1, per the National Weather Service.
What’s happening
Per the NWS, Tropical Depression 5 is expected to become a tropical storm after press time Aug. 31 before making landfall along the upper Texas or southwest Louisiana coast Sept. 1.
Gov. Greg Abbott at an Aug. 31 press conference said the storm is anticipated to make landfall near Chambers and Jefferson counties in the afternoon of Sept. 1. The worst of the rain is expected to be concentrated in Harris County.
That forecast could include a storm surge of 2-4 feet in Chambers and Jefferson counties, as well as local rainfall getting as high as 10-15 inches, including in some areas getting 3-4 inches per hour, Abbott said.
While the rainfall is expected to affect the area’s rivers, it’s too early to tell if it will pose any imminent danger, Abbott said Aug. 31.
What’s being done
The Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management issued a flood watch Sept. 1-2. HCOHSEM officials noted potential impacts for Harris County may include:
- Thunderstorms
- Hazardous travel conditions
- Increased flood risk in areas with rivers, streams and bayous
In preparation, CenterPoint Energy officials activated its Emergency Operations Center Aug. 31 and said their workforce is prepared to respond to potential impacts to its electric and gas service.
“We have activated our preparedness plans, and our crews and contractors stand ready to respond to any service impacts for our customers,” said Jason Fabre, CenterPoint Entergy’s vice president of special response and distribution operations and incident commander, in a statement. “We are closely monitoring the weather models as conditions continue to evolve and urge our customers to stay alert in anticipation of quickly changing weather conditions.”
Similarly, officials with Entergy Texas said the company has:
- Activated its emergency operations center and have crews rotating shifts for 24-hour response coverage
- Deployed more than 60 vegetation crews to targeted locations across the service area to address vegetation that could impact electrical equipment
- Positioned two helicopters and its drone fleet to support aerial damage assessments following the storm, if needed
“Our teams are ready to respond if this system impacts our customers,” said Frank Shannon, vice president of reliability for Entergy Texas, in a statement. “We’re positioning people and resources in areas where they can respond quickly and safely, and we encourage our customers to use this time to review their emergency plans and prepare their homes and families.”
What parents should know
Officials with many local school districts have likewise issued statements regarding the inclement weather.
- Aldine ISD has canceled all after-school activities scheduled for Sept. 1.
- Humble ISD will be closed Sept. 1.
- Spring ISD will have normal operations Sept. 1, but all extracurricular activities and programs scheduled for Sept. 1 are canceled, including after-school and campus activities. Additionally, the board work session has been canceled and rescheduled to Sept. 8.
Other school districts that have issued statements without making any cancellations, include:
At the state
In an Aug. 31 press conference, Abbott, alongside state grid and emergency officials, said nearly two dozen state agencies, as well as more than 1,500 state personnel, have been activated to help deal with the storm’s potential ramifications.
Resources include swift-water boats and high-water vehicles.
At the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, officials said that as of the evening of Aug. 31, no transmission or generation restrictions have been put in place, as winds are expected to reach around 60 mph and will not cross the threshold that endangers the system, which is usually around 110 mph.
Officials at the presser also noted that outage maps at all relevant providers, including CenterPoint, were functional.
“This is our first big storm of the season, and I’ll tell you Texas is prepared,” Orlando Alanis, assistant agency director & chief of state operations and incident support, said at the Aug. 31 press conference.
