Storms from all sides will pound Texas, Houston this weekend Forecasts predict rainfall will be heaviest along the I-10 corridor from San Antonio to Houston

Heavy rains are falling just to the west of the Houston area this morning, and much more is on the way.

It's becoming clear that the dominant factor in the state's rains will be Hurricane Patricia, an extremely powerful hurricane in the East Pacific now moving north toward the Mexico coast.

Over the weekend Patricia will move over Mexico and toward the Texas coast by Sunday.

Although its remnants may briefly emerge into the Gulf of Mexico, it does not appear likely to regenerate into a tropical system. In terms of rain, that will not matter.

Assisting Patricia will be an upper-level low pressure system moving into Texas from the west, and ample Gulf of Mexico moisture. What does this all mean? Lots of rain, higher tides and some winds.

This satellite image taken at 8:45 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 22,...

RAINS

As a result of Patricia's movement global models are starting to latch on to heavy rains along the Texas coast on Saturday night through Monday, along with the movement of the storm's core.

How much rain? It seems plausible that most areas along the Texas coast, including the Houston metro area, will receive 3 to 8 inches of rain, with some smaller areas receiving 10 inches of rain or more. At this time it is impossible to predict where the heaviest rains will fall.

The National Weather Service Coastal Flood Advisory for these areas, noting the potential for problems.

The highest tide should come on Sunday afternoon, at about 1 p.m. CT.

As of Friday, atmospheric moisture will be coming into Texas from...

WINDS

Finally, the remnants of Patricia could also bring strong winds to the area.

Gusting winds of 30 to 40 mph, especially along the coast, will be possible on Sunday and early Monday as the low pressure system moves up the Texas coast.

All in all conditions this weekend will deteriorate pretty quickly on Saturday afternoon and remain pretty awful through Sunday.