Tropical Storm Barry may bring gusty winds, thunderstorms to the Houston area this weekend



>> Click through the following gallery to see photos of flooding in New Orleans from earlier in the week. Tropical Storm Barry could bring rain and gusty winds to the Houston area this weekend.

>> Click through the following gallery to see photos of flooding in New Orleans from earlier in the week. Tropical Storm Barry could bring rain and gusty winds to the Houston area this weekend. Photo: National Weather Service Photo: National Weather Service Image 1 of / 77 Caption Close Tropical Storm Barry may bring gusty winds, thunderstorms to the Houston area this weekend 1 / 77 Back to Gallery

The Houston area could see gusty winds and thunderstorms this weekend related to Tropical Storm Barry, which continues to be a disorganized system as it moves toward the southern coast of Louisiana, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm is currently drifting west-northwest over the northern Gulf. The center of Barry is about 95 miles southwest of the mouth of the Mississippi River, and it's expected to turn northwest later today, meteorologists say.

A 20% chance of thunderstorms is in the forecast for Houston Friday night. The area could start feeling some impacts from the storm on Saturday or Sunday, when stronger thunderstorms developing on the periphery of Barry will be capable of bringing strong winds, the weather service said.

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The chances for rain are more unclear. A band of storms could develop Saturday night into Sunday and produce heavy rainfall over the Houston area, the weather service said. The band would likely focus along or just inland from the coast, the weather service said.

The forecast shows a 40% chance of thunderstorms on Saturday and a 40% chance on Sunday.

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.

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