Strong storm pelts Houston area with rain, hail and lightning

A swath of thunderstorms raged through the core of Houston Tuesday night, filling the sky with lightning and flooding streets, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm pelted the region with heavy rain and caused water to fill a scattering of streets south of Interstate 59 from Westbury and Braeburn to West University. In Dickinson, hail ranging in size from peas to nickles fell from the sky.

Anywhere from inch to two-and-a-half inches of precipitation was recorded, according to NWS meteorologist Wendy Wong.

The storm is expected to lose most of its strength by midnight with a 40 percent chance of the rain continuing through Wednesday morning. By then, fog is predicted to settle over much of southeast Texas — particularly along the coast in Galveston.

Temperatures will remain between the low-60s and mid-70s until a weekend cold front puts high temperatures in the low-50s.

Cloudy skies and small chances of showers will also last through early next week, forecasters said.