The KHOU 11 Weather Team says overnight storms are now starting to move out of our area to the east, but a Flash Flood Watch continues. HOUSTON — As expected, strong storms moved into the Houston area Thursday night, dropping hail in parts of Southeast Texas and bringing more street flooding. Overnight flooding this time around was not as bad as Tuesday night's, which damaged homes in the Kingwood area. But we can't let our guard down yet. A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for all of Southeast Texas until Saturday evening. KHOU 11 Meteorologist Chita Craft says the storms are currently moving east of Houston, which means we will get some relief from the heavy rain for the next several hours. The rain chance increases again on Saturday, however, with more storms expected. Details are in the forecast at the bottom of this article. SCHOOL CLOSURES: Tap here for the updated list HIGH WATER REPORTS: Current high water locations on major roads Flash Flood Watch: Which communities are impacted? The Thursday to Saturday watch covers nearly all of Southeast Texas, including the counties/communities of Austin, Brazoria Islands, Brazos, Burleson, Chambers, Coastal Brazoria, Coastal Galveston, Coastal Harris, Coastal Jackson, Coastal Matagorda, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula, Grimes, Houston, Inland Brazoria, Inland Galveston, Inland Harris, Inland Jackson, Inland Matagorda, Madison, Matagorda Islands, Montgomery, Northern Liberty, Polk, San Jacinto, Southern Liberty, Trinity, Walker, Waller, Washington and Wharton. Weather Timeline: When more rain will arrive FRIDAY - 60% chance of thunderstorms continues in the early-morning hours, becoming more scattered after 10 a.m. Friday evening and the overnight hours heading into Saturday the showers will again become more widespread - continuing our potential to see more flooding. We'll have to watch and wait to see which area watersheds get the most rain and which creeks and bayous threaten to flood again. SATURDAY- After 6 a.m. a 90% chance for rain all day with thunderstorms - especially along the coast. Flood risk continues from the morning through the afternoon. Thunderstorms are possible in the evening, becoming partly cloudy in the late evening heading into Sunday. Rain chances drop to only 20% after 4 p.m. The flood watch does not expire until 7 p.m. SUNDAY- 20% rain chance, high of 82 - calmer conditions for Mother's Day with the flood risk finally dissipating. MONDAY- Slight chance for scattered showers continues, temps in the low-80s.<doc-sep>Rainstorms and rising floodwaters in the Houston area have left hundreds of residents stranded and prompted firefighters and other emergency responders to conduct rescues in waist-high water Tuesday, according to reports. The area is expecting more storms over the next few days, with Houston under a flash-flood warning until Wednesday, the Houston Chronicle reported. Rainfall totals have averaged 4 to 5 inches in southern portions of Harris County and 6 to 9 inches elsewhere in the area, the county's Homeland Security and Emergency Management wrote in a Twitter message. Motorists have gotten stuck in the rising waters and responders were evacuating residents from flooded homes. All roads in Sugar Land, about 22 miles southwest of Houston, were impassable, Houston's FOX 26 reported. "This is worse than what we experienced in Harvey," Sugar Land spokesman Doug Adolph told the Houston Chronicle, referring to the hurricane that devastated the area in 2017. "Our storm drains have been unable to handle the rain in the short amount of time." "This is worse than what we experienced in Harvey. Our storm drains have been unable to handle the rain in the short amount of time." — Sugar Land, Texas, spokesman Doug Adolph In Houston, a class of preschoolers had to be rescued when their classroom flooded, according to the Chronicle. IOWA FLOODS BATTER DOWNTOWN DAVENPORT AS FUTURE OF BUSINESSES IN DOUBT Hundreds of students from different schools in the area were also stranded in the flooding Tuesday, Houston's KTRK-TV reported. Around 800 students in the suburb of Cleveland were still at their school Tuesday evening. In New Caney, in the northern part of Houston, a man rescued a woman and her baby with a shopping cart after a Walmart parking lot flooded, KTRK-TV reported. The Houston Fire Department also reported rescuing a pregnant woman in labor. The Houston fire department tweeted that it conducted 250 high-water rescues in just one part of the city, while Houston's police chief said everyone should stay off the roadways, according to the Weather Channel. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP When Hurricane Harvey made landfall in August 2017, an estimated 13 million people were affected – with 88 people killed and 135,000 homes damaged or destroyed. It was the most costly hurricane in U.S. history after 2005's Hurricane Katrina, according to World Vision.<doc-sep>The storm started Thursday evening as a sheet of hail-packing rain before flooding streets, highways and homes throughout Houston and leaking through the Minute Maid Park roof and onto spectators. The rain was predicted to taper off by 2 a.m. and clear out completely in time for the morning commute, officials assured. "We think we're going to have some clearing tomorrow and then by late afternoon, there's the potential for serious storms like we had," said George Buenik, Houston's director of public safety and homeland security. TRACK THE STORMS: See where the rain is falling and get local conditions on our weather page A whirlwind of chaos unfolded with Centerpoint reporting several thousand power outages and authorities responding to a number of high water incidents as the worst of the thunderstorm slammed the region. Golf ball-sized hail was seen in Katy and flooded streets continued to be a problem in Kingwood, just two days after a similar downpour. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo earlier warned that areas with already-saturated earth were at a higher risk of flooding. And although there was no word of damage or confirmation by midnight, police Chief Art Acevedo said he had "just received unconfirmed report of a tornado in North East area of Houston." The chief later said I-10 had been shut down at McCarty and Mercury because of flooding. A high water rescue crew was dispatched to another stretch of the highway that closed at Wayside and stranded 30 to 40 people, officials said. Authorities were also alerted to downed power lines in East Houston at Ley Road and East Little York at Mesa Drive. More than three inches of rain had fallen in most areas of Houston, according to Harris County meteorologist Jeff Lindner said. Briar Branch Creek in Spring was flooding as of 9 p.m. and Brickhouse Gully was poised to follow suit. By 10:30 p.m., Halls Bayou was pouring into nearby homes along I-45 and Gulfbank, he said. The Harris County Sheriff's Office reported rising water in the Mount Houston area. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said he witnessed a driver brazen enough to go past a patrol car and venture into high water. Meanwhile, the Houston Fire Department pulled two people from a submerged car on Bunker Hill Road. The brunt of the storm was expected to continue overnight with rough weather lingering through Saturday, according to forecasters. Some areas were expected to see anywhere from two to six inches of rain amid flash flood and severe thunderstorm watches throughout the Houston area. A ground stop that was ordered at Bush Intercontinental Airport was expected to continue past midnight. Most of the Centerpoint outages were located in an area from the Energy Corridor to Acres Homes. The flood threat prompted Mayor Sylvester Turner to warn Astros fans from attending Thursday night's game against the Texas Rangers. "If you're not living fairly close to the stadium, this may be one of those evenings where you might want to reconsider," Turner said Thursday afternoon. "My concern would be getting home and the number of people that will be on the road getting home." "Today is maybe a day to have a happy hour at home," he added. Floodwater could be seen filling the streets outside the ballpark just before 10 p.m. and the closed roof made little difference. The structure leaked and drenched the fans who stuck around for the 4-2 victory. The start of the rain forced residents on William Street near downtown Houston to help each other bring their cars out of a basement parking garage. Police officers and high water rescue vehicles, boats and an aircraft were staged across the area but officials ultimately urged residents to stay at home and not drive through water or around barricades. Instant Analysis Text HOUSTON to 77453 to get premium breaking news alerts from HoustonChronicle.com by text | Sign up to receive breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. See More Collapse "The reason why we're standing together is that this weather event that is moving into our area is a very serious one and everyone needs to take it very serious," Turner said at a press conference with other city and county officials. Drivers encountering wet roads are asked to slow down and keep a good distance between other vehicles in traffic. When encountering flooded roadways, drivers are urged to turn around and find another route. On Friday, an additional one to two inches of rain will fall until the overnight hours. The weather is expected to clear up by Mother's day. HIGH-WATER RESCUES: Readers share photos of severe flooding across Houston The timing of those thunderstorms on Friday is uncertain, although NWS has issued a continuous flash flood watch for the entire Southeast Texas area starting 1 p.m. Thursday until Saturday night.<doc-sep>
Most Houston roadways are dry enough for commuters to get to work this morning, but the area will be under a flash-flood watch from Thursday afternoon to Sunday. The National Weather Service issued the watch for all of southeast Texas as forecasters predict a wet weekend in the Houston area. HIGH-WATER RESCUES: Readers share photos of severe flooding across Houston The Storm Prediction Center says there's a slight risk for severe storms today across nearly all counties in southeast Texas, with possible strong wind, hail and isolated tornadoes. That comes after overnight storms Tuesday to Wednesday dumped 10 to 12 inches of rain on isolated parts of Harris and Fort Bend counties. Of the four Houston-area school districts that closed Wednesday because of weather, only New Caney ISD will remain closed for the rest of the week, according to a Facebook post. All school-related activities in the district have been canceled until school resumes, and state and AP testing has been rescheduled for next week, the post said. Huffman, Splendora and Cleveland ISDs all said they will resume classes today. SUGAR LAND FLOODING: Why did Sugar Land flood water stay high? The rain should taper off for a time Thursday morning, according to the weather service, with most showers and thunderstorms northeast of the area. But 5 to 8 inches of rain are expected over the next three days, with up to 12 inches possible in some areas. More Information STAY INFORMED: Text CHRON to 77453 to get breaking news alerts by text | Sign up to receive breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. See More Collapse "This event will be a marathon, not a sprint," according to the forecast discussion. Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.