Tropical Storm Cindy: Heavy Rain To Impact Houston Area [UPDATE]

HOUSTON, TX — Tropical Storm Cindy is zeroed in on the Texas coast and is expected to begin brining heavy rain and the potential for flooding to the Housotn area sometime Wednesday evening.

The National Hurricane Center reported that Cindy is moving northwest at 9 miles per hour, and that the storms highest sustained winds had dropped from 60 miles per hour, to 50 miles per hour since Wednesday morning.

The Houston area, which includes Harris, Galveston, Chambers and Liberty counties, remains under a tropical storm warning, KHOU reported

Harris County officials are now just watching and waiting as Tropical Storm Cindy slowly makes its way toward landfall at Sabine Pass.

On Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center upgraded the tropical storm warnings for Harris, Galveston, Chambers and Liberty Counties, to a tropical storm watch, not long after Cindy strengthened and shifted her path from the central and western Louisiana coast, to Sabine Pass at the Louisiana-Texas border. (Want to get daily updates about traffic news and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Houston Patch morning newsletter.)

Read Also: Galveston County Issues Voluntarily Evacuation As Storm Moves Closer

Late Tuesday evening, officials in Galveston County issued a voluntary evacuation order for Bolivar Peninsula, prompting elderly residents and residents with medical conditions to consider leaving the island sooner while there is still time.

Depending on the path of the storm, some residents in the Houston area may not see any effects from Cindy, particularly those who live west of Interstate 45, KPRC reported.

This means that areas, east of the I-45, could seen rain, high winds and possible flooding even before Cindy makes landfall, the Houston Chronicle reported.

However, there is still a chance the storm could shift more westerly and bring high winds and heavy rains to the entire Houston area, officials said.

OEM officials said if the storm does change direction slightly, flooding would be more an issue than wind.

OEM officials monitored the storm overnight Tuesday from TranStar.

Stay with Patch for this developing story.

Image: nola.agent via Flickr Commons

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