Tropical Storm Imelda made landfall in southeastern Texas on Tuesday afternoon and began moving slowly toward Houston, as schools canceled classes and forecasters warned of heavy rain and “life-threatening flash flooding.”
Heavy rain was already falling in parts of Houston on Tuesday evening. The National Hurricane Center said that Imelda was expected to dump six to 12 inches around the region. Up to 18 inches of rain could fall in some pockets, the center said.
“Travel will be hazardous this evening, and flooding in urban, low-lying, and poor drainage areas is anticipated,” the National Weather Service in Houston said in a tweet on Tuesday afternoon.
At 4 p.m. Tuesday, Imelda was about 30 miles south of Houston and was moving toward the north at 7 miles per hour. Forecasts project heavy rains through Thursday evening, according to Space City Weather, a Houston weather news website.
The Galveston Independent School District and the Texas City Independent School District said that they had canceled classes on Wednesday. Other Houston-area school districts said that they were monitoring weather forecasts before making decisions to close doors.
The area is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, which lingered over the city as a tropical storm in August 2017. Heavy rain, high winds and tornadoes leveled entire neighborhoods.
Hundreds of miles to the east, Hurricane Humberto was expected to wallop Bermuda by Wednesday afternoon with heavy winds, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“Winds are expected to first reach tropical-storm strength by Wednesday afternoon, making outside preparations difficult or dangerous,” the hurricane center said. “Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.”
Storm surge and heavy waves could bring coastal flooding on Wednesday night along Bermuda’s southern coast, the center said.
Farther southeast of Humberto, the hurricane center said Tropical Depression Ten was strengthening and was expected to become a hurricane when it approaches the Leeward Islands on Thursday night and Friday.
Matthew Sedacca contributed reporting.
