Rain Kicks Off First Week of 2017

HOUSTON, TX -- Residents in the Greater Houston area were greeted with lightning with multiple waves of thunderstorms to start the second day of 2017.

The first wave of storms and high winds began rolling into Waller County and the northwest Houston areas of Cypress, Tomball and Magnolia at about 4:45 a.m., bringing steady rain and windy conditions that lasted nearly three hours.

Weather alerts were issued throughout the Greater Houston area and remained in effect until 8:45 a.m.

Residents in parts of Tomball and Magnolia reported sporadic power outages, while a ground stoppage of air traffic at Bush Intercontinental Airport was ordered at around 6:30 a.m.

According to a KPRC report, normal travel operations were reinstated around 7:15 a.m, the airport announced via Twitter. Some delays up to 15 minutes were reported.

The Harris County Flood Control District reported as much as 1.32 inches of rain fell in the Cypress Creek area, while pea-sized hail was reported near David Wayne Hooks Airport in Spring.

The first wave of storms pushed quickly through the Houston area, moving east into Louisiana.

However, a second wave of storms that had blanketed Central Texas and Austin moved in, dropping temperatures into the upper 50s and bringing more heavy rain to the Houston area that stretched from the north to farther south into the Galveston Bay area.

By 9:45 a.m. the storms began moving out the Houston area, giving way to sunny skies and afternoon temperatures that are expected to reach the low to mid 70s.

For the rest of the week, the high on Tuesday is expected to be near 76 degrees with an expected low in the upper 40s, after an expected dry cold front pushes through the region sometime Tuesday, bringing clear skies and mild temperatures through the weekend.

The highs through the rest of the week and weekend will likely be in the upper 50s or low 60s under partly sunny skies, with lows in the low to mid 40s.

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