More Locally Heavy Rain For Flood-Weary Texas This Week

The Weather Channel

It seems that there is no rest for the rain-weary over parts of Texas. Several significant rain events have produced flooding across the region in recent months and more rain is on the way.

Another round of heavy rain inundated the Lone Star State over the past several days, resulting in even more flooding. After a brief break, more significant rain is expected again this week.  

For more on the flooding that has already occurred, scroll down below the forecast section.

More Rain Ahead This Week

Early this week, a southward dip in the jet stream, or trough, will move into the southwestern U.S. This pattern has repeated itself several times in recent months resulting in many heavy rain and flooding events for parts of Texas.

By midweek, the trough will slide slowly into western Texas. Plenty of moisture will once more be transported into Texas from the Pacific Ocean aloft and from the Gulf of Mexico at the surface. The result will be more locally heavy rain and thunderstorms for a significant portion of the Lone Star State.

(FORECAST: Dallas | Austin | San Antonio | Houston | Wichita Falls | San Angelo)

Some locations across northern and central Texas could see from three to five inches of rain, with locally heavier amounts, from Tuesday night through Friday. It appears that eastern and southeastern sections of the Lone Star State will see most of their rain Wednesday through Friday.

Although it is difficult to pinpoint exact areas where the heaviest rain will fall, there will likely be more localized flooding and additional or worsening river and stream flooding. All residents should keep up with local weather conditions and any flood warnings that may be issued.

Overall, it has been a wet and stormy spring for much of Texas. As of Monday night, the following locations have set their wettest March-May:

As of early Monday, San Angelo has set a new record for the wettest March-May with 14.62 inches and Abilene has experienced their second wettest March-May on record with 16.80 inches.

• Austin-Bergstrom Airport: 25.44 inches
• College Station-Bryan: 22.63 inches
• San Angelo: 14.62 inches

Also, both Abilene (16.79 inches) and Houston (24.84 inches) have chalked up their second wettest spring on record. Houston’s two wettest springs have now been in consecutive years (26.61 inches at Bush Intercontinental Airport in 2015).

Last Week’s Flood Reports

A multi-day siege of severe thunderstorms morphed into a major flash flood event in parts of the southern plains, including Texas, late Thursday into Friday, swamping homes and washing out bridges.

Over 18 inches of rain hammered the official reporting station in Brenham, Texas, about 65 miles west-northwest of downtown Houston, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). That set a new 24-hour rainfall record for the location.

A cooperative CoCoRaHS observer just east of the city measured 19.14 inches, having to empty his gauge once to avoid overflow, according to the NWS.

Emergency crews in Bastrop County, Texas, were “overwhelmed with water rescues and other emergency calls” overnight Thursday night, according to a NWS civil emergency message.

Numerous roads were flooded, with several washouts and even one bridge damaged by flooding in the county. Austin-Bergstrom Airport picked up 8.79 inches Thursday, the second wettest calendar-day rain at that site dating to 1942. The wettest day at that particular site was just about seven months ago, when a deluge of 12.49 inches on October 30 prompted the airport tower to close.

All this heavy rain sent area rivers into major flood stage.

The Brazos River will crest just over 3 feet above its previous record flood stage Tuesday at Richmond, Texas, though its period of record dates back only to 1981. This is well above levels at which homes in Richmond, Simonton, and Thompsons and Rosenberg, according to the National Weather Service.

Floodwaters poured into neighborhoods near Spring Creek in the north side of the Houston metro area Friday and Saturday. The river peaked just over 13 feet higher than the crest on May 28, 2015.

Flooding of homes was expected near Peach Creek and the West Fork of the San Jacinto River northeast of downtown Houston, and along the Trinity River at Liberty, as well.

Davidson Creek near Lyons (southwest of College Station) topped its previous record level from October 1994. The Brazos River near Hempstead reached its second highest level, topped only by a crest in December 1913.

The Colorado River topped out slightly above crests from last May and November near Smithville, inundating some area homes. Downstream crests in La Grange and Columbus were also from 2 to 5 feet above May 2015, and a Tuesday crest in Wharton may flood homes in the city’s west side, the fourth highest crest on record.

One piece of good news was that the heaviest rain remained north and northwest of Houston (as indicated in the map above) so they avoided some major flood problems in much of the rest of the metro not near bayous.

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