It’s almost like a holding pattern at IAH. There is a line of potential threats approaching.
Houston is getting rain today. Nothing overly drenching, a 60% chance of rain, but more of an appetizer.
The system in the Gulf of Mexico that the National Hurricane Center calls a disturbance is disturbing. It has a 40% of developing into something more significant within the next 48 hours as it makes a beeline drive for the Texas Gulf Coast, and a 50% of becoming a Tropical Depression before we get the rains this weekend. A Hurricane Tracker aircraft will offer a better assessment later today, but we have about an 80% of rain this Saturday so plan on that.
More disturbing yet is Tropical Storm Gonzalo, which was given a name earlier today. The image below, of Tropical Depression Seven, is Gonzalo before it was named. Seven might not be lucky. This is the earliest we’ve gotten a G named storm since they started naming them, and the closest, Gert, on July 24 of 2005, was the busiest hurricane season on record. You remember Katrina. Winds are currently 45 mph, it’s moving at 12 mph, and is still more than 1,200 east of the Windward Islands. But it’s a tight, little compact system that could lend itself to formation, or could fizzle when it encounters a land mass.
Yes, everyone has told you to stock up on your storm supplies and make sure everyone in the household knows the plan. Now would be a good time to confirm that, and to make sure you’ve included extra face masks and hand sanitizer. There's a pandemic to consider this year.
The first hurricane of the season typically forms around August 10, but this is 2020 and nothing is normal.
By the way, there is a hurricane loose in the Pacific Ocean right now, Hurricane Douglas, which may threaten Hawaii this weekend.