A year after the catastrophe took place, residents of the Houston area are still recovering from a natural disaster that was quite uncommon for their community. After all, in the past 40 years, Houston has been hit only four times by hurricanes or major storms, including Alicia in 1983, Allison in 2001, Rita in 2005 and, of course, Harvey in 2017.

The severe effects that Harvey had in Central Houston has left residents of the area wondering what’s next. Could they expect a storm that intense in 2018?

The season is, thankfully, almost over -- we’ve already seen enough devastation with Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. Officially beginning on June 1, 2018, the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season saw first storm activity on May 25, with Tropical Storm Alberto. This is the fourth consecutive year this has happened, which begs the question: will this be our new normal?

Tropical Storm Beryl formed in July, closely followed by Hurricane Chris. A suspiciously calm August was followed by an intense September, which saw Hurricane Florence, a Category 4 storm, devastate the Carolinas. Additional storms made their way through the Atlantic during September, leading to Hurricane Michael, which was upgraded on October 9.

It seems that, after an active beginning of the season, late September included the final major storms for Texas. Usually by September 24, Hurricane Season ends for the coastal state.

While this means that we probably won’t see any significant tropical storms headed our way, that doesn’t mean that storms are ruled out for the season. In the upcoming days, you can expect heavy rains as a result of Hurricane Willa -- a Pacific storm that made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in Mexico -- and possible street flooding in certain areas of Central Houston.

While Hurricane Willa is not likely to severely impact the Houston community, we still encourage you to be extremely careful. Do not drive on closed roads as they may be flooded. If your home or property suffers from any type of damage as a result of the heavy rains, whether that be water damage or mold growth, contact the experts at Restoration 1 of Central Houston for prompt property restoration services in your area.