RodeoHouston Cancels Drone Show, Pauses Activities After Storms Hit NRG Park

Strong storms swept through the NRG Park area Saturday evening, prompting RodeoHouston officials to cancel the nightly drone show, issue a weather advisory, and direct attendees to seek shelter as the weather moved overhead.

At about 7:30 p.m. on March 7, loudspeakers across the rodeo grounds carried the instruction: "calmly move to the nearest building for safety." Organizers also warned that rides and other outdoor activities could be paused as conditions developed. The drone show, a signature feature of the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, did not take place Saturday night.

Not everyone was rattled. One attendee told KPRC reporter Joy Addison ahead of the storm's arrival that the weather wasn't going to change his plans. "All we do is WIN, so we always say WIN anyway. We ain't gonna worry — we're gonna WIN anyway. So if it rains, it was meant to rain," he said.

While no hail was reported at NRG Park during Saturday's event, the National Weather Service noted isolated hail in the Piney Woods region. The storm system also prompted a flood advisory for coastal communities, which expired at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The same system brought heavy rain and thunderstorms to other parts of the Houston area, though NRG Park itself avoided the worst of it, in contrast to 2024 when hail struck the rodeo grounds directly.

Guests were encouraged to follow announcements from venue staff and monitor official RodeoHouston channels for updates. The event has not publicly confirmed whether the canceled drone show will be rescheduled or whether any refund policy applies to affected ticketholders.

The unsettled weather pattern is not finished with Houston. Meteorologist Brittany Begley of KPRC was tracking another round of rain and storms for Sunday afternoon, with a strong cold front expected to push through Tuesday into Wednesday, bringing additional rain and thunderstorms later in the week.