Tropical Storm Bill Heads Toward Texas & Oklahoma

Weeks after torrential rain caused deadly floods across Texas and Oklahoma, the two states are the center of yet another crazy bout of weather. Tropical Storm Bill is heading toward Texas and Oklahoma, but when will it make landfall? And will it be as devastating as May's floods?

Bill has its eye set on the Texas Gulf Coast, and is expected to make landfall on Tuesday between 10 a.m. and noon (11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET), bringing with him high winds, heavy rain and possible tornadoes. But Bill's top wind speed is estimated at 50 mph after landfall, definitely making for a gusty day, but not near hurricane-speed winds. To give you an idea, the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale puts the upper boundary of a tropical storm is at 73 mph winds, and a Category 1 hurricane — which typically causes little damage — begins at 74 mph.

Bill will weaken once it has made landfall, but there are still river and flash flood warnings for parts of Oklahoma and even up to Arkansas and Missouri.

East Texas is expected to get 4 to 8 inches of rain, and some parts are the state will be hit with up to 12 inches. Houston, which sustained major flooding in the last part of May, is expected to get around 6 to 8 inches of rain, but according to the Harris County Flood Control District, the bayous and creeks in the area will be able to sustain the additional rainfall. School districts in Houston and Galveston canceled all school camps and activities for Tuesday.

There will be flash flood warnings in Houston through Wednesday at 6 p.m., and a voluntary evacuation is happening in the Galveston County area. Although it doesn't seem like the flooding will be near May's disaster, officials in Harris County call some flooding "inevitable."

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