Tropical Storm Bill: Tuesday’s Show (June 16, 2015)

It has a name: Tropical Storm Bill. And it’s expected to make landfall on the Texas coast this morning and move inland throughout the day. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the coast of Texas, from Baffin Bay south of Corpus Christi to High Island, up the coast from Galveston. The southern coast is where Bill is expected to make landfall and then continue to move inland over the south-central part of the state. The storm is expected to weaken as its center moves inland.

For Houston, this means a day of heavy rain, occasionally strong, gusty winds, the possibility of isolated tornadoes and, of course, the threat of flooding. Many Houstonians are heeding the advice to stay home today. Traffic has been very light during the morning rush hours. HISD is among many school districts closing schools and offices. The University of Houston is also closed today. A flash flood watch remains in effect through 6 p.m. Wednesday for portions of southeast Texas including Harris, Galveston, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria and Chambers counties.

We kick off today’s edition of Houston Matters with the latest on Tropical Storm Bill, and its impact on Greater Houston. (NOTE: Stay tuned to Houston Public Media News 88.7 FM throughout the day for the very latest).

Then: From time to time on this program, we offer you an opportunity to get some basic questions answered about your own life – from healthcare for you and your loved ones to the latest technology impacting your life to the care and feeding of your pets, to the topic for this portion of the program: personal finance. We welcome your questions about everything from budgeting, to investing, to saving for a rainy day, to planning for retirement as we talk with certified financial planner Bryan Zschiesche, a partner and financial adviser at Houston-based Financial Synergy.

Plus: In September of 2011, severe drought – coupled with a tropical storm – helped fuel a wildfire that destroyed the home of Randy Fritz and his family in the Lost Pines area, about 103 miles northwest of Houston near Bastrop. While neither he, his wife nor his three daughters were hurt in the fire that claimed their house, Fritz's new memoir about the disaster outlines several decisions he made during and after he and his family evacuated that put his family at risk. His book, called Hail of Fire: A Man and His Family Face Natural Disaster, tells the story of the fire and how Fritz came to terms with his decisions in that crisis. Houston Matters’ Michael Hagerty talks with Fritz in this week’s installment of our summer reading series.