Morning Roundup: One more day edition

Good morning, Houston. It's Thursday — the last day of May — which means there's just a few more hours to enter the Houstonist photo exhibition. We're accepting entries until 11:59 p.m. tomorrow, so be sure to send your photos before then. As always, the details and entry form are at 600sqmi.com. Good luck!

>> Aw, hail: We knew there was a chance of rain yesterday, but we didn't expect a long bout of biblical flooding and God-hates-us thunder — and yet that's what we got late in the afternoon. A line of storms moved slowly across the Houston area from the northwest, dumping up to 3 inches of rain and nickel-sized hail in some areas. Among the hardest-hit areas was Hedwig Village, where localized flooding was reported; flooding was also reported along the Katy Freeway at the Sam Houston Tollway, South Post Oak and T.C. Jester. The storms moved out to the southwest by the late evening, leaving us with a 20 percent chance of rain this afternoon.

>> 'I don't want my son left in this water': Rondia Terry's son, 18-year-old Randall Terry, has been missing since he was swept away by a strong current while swimming in Spring Creek on Tuesday. And though rescue crews are doing their best to find him, Terry pleaded with them Wednesday to do more: "I don't want my son left in this water tonight," she said. "Please do what you can do to get my son out of the water. Please get him out today." Texas EquuSearch was on the scene yesterday asking for more boats and divers; the group needed to narrow the search area using sonar, but Wednesday afternoon's bad weather held that up. "Divers can't swim the entire creek," EquuSearch founder Tim Miller said. "When we get some sonar that could be something, we'll send some of them in for that." Miller said the group will stay with Mrs. Terry until Randall is found.

>> Turner in the running for House speaker: State Rep. Sylvester Turner of Houston added his name to the list of contenders for the state House speaker's seat yesterday — an interesting move considering that Turner has been in league with House Speaker Tom Craddick and supported Craddick during attempts to oust him from the speaker's chair this legislative session. "I remain loyal to him. We are friends, but I did not want to factor that into making my decision," Turner told the Chronicle. "I intend to talk with him. I wanted to put forth my name early in the game and let people mull on it." It's not clear what kind of chance Turner has at winning the position — there are 81 Republicans and 69 Democrats in the House now, and it takes 76 votes to become speaker — but fellow Rep. Garnet Coleman said a viable run from Turner isn't good for Craddick. "If Sylvester is a serious candidate, Craddick is dead," Coleman said. "He is defeated now."

>> Today's weather: Warm and potentially wet again today: Look for an afternoon high around 89, with a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms after lunch. The temperature will drop into the low 70s overnight, taking the rain with it.

Think cool with some headlines ...