Tropical Depression Two may become Bertha, bring rain to Houston area
Tropical Depression Two could become Bertha by late week, with Houston's biggest threat likely to be heavy rain and street flooding in low-lying Harris County.
Tropical Depression Two had formed in the northern and eastern Gulf and could strengthen into Tropical Storm Bertha as it moved toward Houston late this week. In Harris County, the first places to watch are low-lying neighborhoods near bayous, including Greenspoint and Kashmere Gardens, where a few bands of heavy rain can quickly flood streets, stall cars and overload drainage.
Current forecasts showed a Texas landfall on Thursday or Friday, and rain is likely to be the biggest impact. CNN put the odds of the system becoming a tropical depression or tropical storm in the next 48 hours at 80 percent. FOX 26 Houston updated its forecast Sunday at 6:38 p.m. CDT after an 11:03 a.m. CDT post. The disturbance was the second storm of the 2026 hurricane season.
The practical move for the next 24 to 48 hours is to finish travel before the weather turns messy, especially if school pickups, delivery work or medical appointments depend on open roads. Residents in flood-prone parts of Harris County should move vehicles off streets that pond after heavy rain, charge phones and battery packs, clear storm drains and ditch lines near homes, and set up emergency alerts before the forecast tightens. A tropical storm watch was already in effect Monday for parts of the Gulf Coast, and New Orleans could see tropical storm conditions by Wednesday, while watches had also been issued for the Florida Panhandle.
Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management is monitoring the system. The National Weather Service Houston/Galveston’s 2026 Hurricane Guide and tropical weather resources are in place for Southeast Texas. The Harris County Flood Control District’s Flood Warning System can alert residents to heavy rain and possible flooding, especially if watches turn into tropical storm warnings or if flood watches and flash-flood warnings start appearing over the county.
The latest forecasts still point to rainfall as the main concern, but a stronger track or slower-moving storm could make late-week conditions much wetter and more disruptive across the Houston area.
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