With Tropical Storm Harvey being stalled over the Houston-Metropolitan area, torrential rainfall has led to catastrophic flooding, however, however, days of drenching downpours are ahead, along with the potential for tornadoes and some lingering coastal flooding.
Harvey is moving toward the southeast at about 3.0 mph (4.0 kph), and a slow southeastward motion is expected over the next couple of days. On the forecast track, the center of Harvey is forecast to move off the middle Texas coast on Monday and meander just offshore through Monday night.
The storm is still packing maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) with some higher gusts possible. There is little change in the overall forecast over the next 24 hours. There is the possibility of some slight re-strengthening after the center moves off the coast on Monday night and Tuesday.
Harvey is expected to produce additional rainfall accumulations of 15 to 25 inches through Friday over the upper Texas coast and into southwestern Louisiana. Elsewhere, Harvey is expected to produce total rain accumulations of five to 15 inches farther south into the middle Texas coast, further west toward the Texas Hill Country, and farther east across south-central Louisiana.
Harvey is the longest a Texas land-falling hurricane has remained a named storm after landfall since Hurricane Fern in 1971, according to Colorado State University tropical scientist Dr. Phil Klotzbach. The rainfall totals “Volume-wise, has likely reached the rainfall that fell during Allison in June 2001,” NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center said in a forecast discussion Sunday morning. For a detailed look at specific rainfalls totals with Harvey, you can go to the NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER.
