Houston Weather: Streets Flood On Fourth Of July (Photos)

HOUSTON, TX — Houston-area residents woke up to a rainy and flooded Fourth of July. According to the National Weather Service, showers and thunderstorms will continue into the afternoon and the agency says various locations around western Houston have already picked up three to four inches of rain. Several weather advisories are currently in effect for the region, which is experiencing extremely frequent floods as of late.

"At this time, it appears the higher totals may be near Galveston Bay," the NWS wrote in a hazardous weather outlook for the region. "Several inches of rain in a short time period may cause street flooding and a rise on smaller streams and bayous."

There has been massive flooding in certain areas of Southwest Houston's I-69 and Westpark Tollway, according to Twitter user Ian Shelton. Shelton reported there's been up to 17 feet of water in certain areas.

The Texas Department of Transportation released a list of high water locations:

Because of the weather, several communities in the area have already canceled the Fourth of July fireworks shows. Tomball, Galen Park, Rosenberg, Kemah and Katy have all canceled their displays.

A flash flood warning is in effect until 2:30 p.m. for south central Harris County. A flash flood watch is in effect for the following counties: Chambers, Coastal Brazoria, Coastal Galveston, Coastal Harris, Fort Bend, Galveston Island, Bolivar Peninsula, Inland Brazoria, Inland Galveston, Inland Harris and Southern Liberty. The flash flood watch is in effect until 4 p.m.

The NWS says the watch area could pick up another one to three inches of rain through the early afternoon hours.

"The main threat will be that of street flooding, especially around construction areas," the NWS wrote.

"Local bayous should be able to handle this rainfall although a quick 2 to 3 inch per hour rainfall rate over any watershed will make levels quickly rise to near bankfull. Lower lying areas will also experience flooding."

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said residents should pay close attention to weather reports and minimize travel till later in the afternoon. He said residents should not attempt to drive through streets that are underwater.

"If you do not have to get on the road over the next couple of hours, please stay put," Turner wrote in a series of Tweets.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport said there were no reports of significant flight impacts because of the flooding but they advised passengers to allow for extra travel time.

Photos posted to social media showed the extent of the street flooding in many communities:

Here's an hour by hour weather forecast for Houston:

July 4 Hourly Forecast for Houston

Heavy rain until this afternoon.

10am - Heavy Rain, 76°

Chance of rain: 84%. Wind 3 mph from the SSW.

11am - Heavy Rain, 75°

Chance of rain: 85%. Wind 2 mph from the SSW.

12pm - Heavy Rain, 75°

Chance of rain: 80%. Wind 6 mph from the SSE.

1pm - Heavy Rain, 75°

Chance of rain: 77%. Wind 6 mph from the SSW.

2pm - Heavy Rain, 76°

Chance of rain: 77%. Wind 8 mph from the SSW.

3pm - Rain, 77°

Chance of rain: 64%. Wind 10 mph from the SSW.

4pm - Rain, 78°

Chance of rain: 40%. Wind 10 mph from the SSW.

5pm - Overcast, 80°

Chance of rain: 13%. Wind 9 mph from the SSW.

6pm - Mostly Cloudy, 81°

Chance of rain: 12%. Wind 6 mph from the S.

7pm - Mostly Cloudy, 82°

Chance of rain: 14%. Wind 5 mph from the S.

8pm - Mostly Cloudy, 80°

Chance of rain: 9%. Wind 5 mph from the SE.

9pm - Partly Cloudy, 79°

Chance of rain: 3%. Wind 5 mph from the SE.

10pm - Partly Cloudy, 78°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 4 mph from the ESE.

11pm - Partly Cloudy, 78°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 4 mph from the ESE.

12am - Partly Cloudy, 77°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 4 mph from the E.

1am - Partly Cloudy, 77°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 4 mph from the E.

2am - Clear, 76°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 4 mph from the E.

3am - Clear, 76°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 4 mph from the ENE.

4am - Clear, 76°

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 4 mph from the ENE.

5am - Partly Cloudy, 75°

Chance of rain: 3%. Wind 4 mph from the ENE.

6am - Partly Cloudy, 75°

Chance of rain: 5%. Wind 4 mph from the NE.

7am - Partly Cloudy, 75°

Chance of rain: 6%. Wind 5 mph from the NE.

8am - Humid and Partly Cloudy, 77°

Chance of rain: 5%. Wind 5 mph from the NE.

9am - Humid and Partly Cloudy, 79°

Chance of rain: 3%. Wind 5 mph from the ENE.

Data provided by darksky.net.

This report will be updated.

Image via Shutterstock