HOUSTON – Hurricane Willa slammed into the west coast of Mexico on Tuesday, and the remnants of the storm will bring rain to the Houston area starting Wednesday.
Willa made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane about 8 p.m. Central time near Isla Del Bosque with winds of near 120 mph. It has since weakened to a tropical depression as it races northeast at 25 mph toward South Texas.
A Flash Flood Warning was issued for Galveston County until 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The system is spreading abundant moisture across the Lone Star State on Wednesday morning, with pockets of heavy rain being reported across much of Texas. Scattered showers were being reported in the Houston area.
The chance of heavier rain in Southeast Texas will increase through the day, with the best chance of rain coming during the late evening and overnight hours of Wednesday. Most locations can expect to see steady moderate rainfall with a few embedded thunderstorms.
Rainfall amounts will generally be between 1 and 2 inches. The heaviest rain will be offshore, but some coastal locations could pick up as much as 4 inches of rain.
Meteorologist Britta Merwin said the threat of flooding in Southeast Texas is low with this system, but she said people should prepare for wet weather and expect hazardous road conditions.
After the remnants of Willa move east of the area, skies will clear and crisp, sunny, fall weather will return. High temperatures for the remainder of the week will be in the mid to upper 70s. Morning low temperatures will hold in the 50s and lower 60s.