Greater Houston Prepares For Tropical Storm Nicholas

The latest on the storm:

As of 10:00 a.m. Monday morning, Tropical Storm Nicholas was barreling towards Southeast Texas, with the possibility of strengthening into a Hurricane before the storm’s Monday evening landfall.

According to the National Weather Service in Houston, the storm has reached sustained winds of 60 mph and is expected to make landfall Monday evening between Corpus Christi and Matagorda Bay. The storm will then slowly travel Northeast along the Texas coast through Tuesday night, according to the forecast.

The storm could bring rainfall totals of 8-16 inches throughout Southeast Texas, with the possibility of as much as 20 inches, according to predictions from the NWS Houston.

Eric Berger with Space City Weather said on Monday’s Houston Matters that the storm could possibly move through the Houston area Monday night, minimizing the threat of heavy rain fall.

“If that happens, the threat of really heavy rainfall should end by about noon on Tuesday or Tuesday afternoon,” Berger said. “I think it’s more likely that the worst has passed by the middle of the day tomorrow.”

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Updated 11:27 a.m. CT Monday

Houston Prepares

The Houston area — along with the rest of Southeast Texas — began preparing early Monday morning, according to Mayor Sylvester Turner. At a morning briefing, Turner said the city had already decreased Lake Houston’s water level by 1 foot to minimize the potential of flooding, and was prepared to lower it further if needed.

Tuner added that the city also deployed 43 barricades throughout the city, and urged residents to stay off the roads.

“We are monitoring this storm very, very closely,” Turner said.

Turner said the city’s emergency services would be utilizing high-water equipment to respond to flooding, and that the city is considering calling in only essential employees on Tuesday — but added that he will make a final decision later on Monday.

Possible Outages

About 2,000 CenterPoint Energy customers in the Houston area were without power as of Monday morning due to inclement weather, according to Turner.

Gov. Greg Abbott, who visited Houston on Monday to sign a bail reform bill into law, said the state was ready to assist the Southeast Texas region.

“I’ve spoken to the Harris County Judge, as well as county judges up and down the entire Gulf Coast, to make sure that we’re working collaboratively to make sure that at the local level, we will be prepared for whatever the storm may bring in,” he said.

School Closures

See all school closures on HoustonPublicMedia.org

Houston ISD canceled after-school activities on Monday and announced that all HISD schools — including virtual learning — and offices will be closed on Tuesday.

Tomball ISD, Channelview ISD, Spring Branch ISD, and Stafford MSD will also cancel after-school activities on Monday and be closed on Tuesday.

Clear Creek ISD and La Porte ISD canceled school on Monday and planned to make a decision regarding Tuesday at a later time.

The University of St. Thomas will shut its doors at 12:00 p.m. Monday and be closed for the remainder of the day.