Meteorologists expect anywhere from three to five inches of rain across Harris County from Friday night to Saturday morning.

Francisco Sanchez, spokesman for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said they will activate the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) starting Friday afternoon.

"Our biggest concern is high water locations that could happen, especially over the overnight hours when it's dark," he said. "And it's Friday night, so there will be people out and about. And we do have the very real potential for some bayou flooding. We have to watch that very closely."

Sanchez asks people to stay off the roads Friday night, if possible. They should also clean up fallen leaves from gutters and ditches, so they don't clog up the run-off system.

Showers and isolated thunderstorms expected to gradually increase through the day from west to east. #bcswx #txwx #houwx pic.twitter.com/uhb6mrvwzI — NWS Houston (@NWSHouston) December 7, 2018

Jeff Lindner, meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District, said the rain will stop by midday Saturday, but that doesn't necessarily mean there won’t be more flooding.

"Some of those creeks and rivers may not reach their peak until Sunday or Monday," he said. "So just because the rain stops on Saturday, does not mean the threat is over from the flooding standpoint until possibly even early next week."

In a conversation with Houston Matters, Lindner also said that the time of year increases the potential impact of the storm.

“Typically this kind of rainfall in the summer time we wouldn’t be as concerned with, but due to the fact that it is December — we have been very wet in the fall here. We haven’t had a lot of sun and it’s been cool, so we haven’t evaporated much of that soil moisture,” he said. “We’re very primed for a lot of runoff, and we’re expecting anywhere from 90 to 95 percent of what falls in the next 24 hours to run off.”

Lindner said they’re mostly concerned with runoff in the area north and northwest of US-59.

Other areas across the state are also expected to have severe weather this weekend, including flooding, snow and ice. Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Texas State Operations Center to elevate its readiness level in preparation.

“I encourage all Texans to stay alert to potentially hazardous road conditions and changing weather patterns, ” Abbott said in a press release.

Cancellations by school districts

Due to the weather forecast, the Houston Independent School District canceled after-school activities. All varsity basketball games scheduled for Friday night were rescheduled for Saturday, December 8. HISD announced Saturday activities will begin after 9 a.m. Pearland ISD also canceled after-school, extracurricular and athletic activities that were originally scheduled for Friday.

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