Houston weather: Tornado watch issued, strong to severe storms Thursday

HOUSTON - Thursday is a FOX 26 Storm Alert Day as we could see heavy rain, lightning and even some hail and damaging winds from late Thursday morning to this evening.

What We Know: The entire Houston area is at risk of seeing severe weather today.

The National Weather Service put the area at a "slight risk" on its severe weather outlook. That's a 2 out of 5 on the NWS scale.

Severe weather means there is a potential for hail, damaging winds, more than an inch of rain and a shot at an isolated tornado.

The NWS issued a Tornado Watch until 7 p.m. for 21 counties. These counties include Austin, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Houston, Liberty, Madison, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Walker, Waller, Washington, and Wharton.

Possible tornadoes could become EF-2 and stay on the ground for an extended path.

At 2:15 p.m., NWS issued a tornado warning for part of Wharton County which expired at 2:45 p.m. 

Timeline: The day started off with fog and some intermittent drizzle.

Thunderstorms are expected to move in late this morning.

These storms will increase in intensity during the middle of the day to the early afternoon.

Around 4 p.m., we expect conditions to improve to the west of Houston and around 6:30 p.m. most of the storms should be out of Houston.

What We Don't Know: The exact timing of the storms could change as they move through the area.

Be sure to download the FOX 26 Weather app for the latest updates and live radar.

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7-Day Forecast

Once we get past today, tonight brings the chance for some fog and tomorrow looks pretty quiet. On Saturday, there will be a slight chance for showers early in the day followed by a quiet pattern to wrap up 2024 and head into the year 2025 on a cool note with New Year’s Eve temperatures likely in the 40s.