A Foot of Rain in Houston

I've blogged many times about flooding in Houston and I do again tonight. Just turn on any cable news channel at the top of the hour to see the video. Three people have perished today in the floods, which have dumped over a foot of rain in the last 36 hours in the metro Houston area. Twenty bayous overflowed, sending up to eight feet of floodwater into the streets and shutting down parts of I-10 and I-45 (Associated Press).

Both gauge totals and Doppler estimates confirmed that over 12 inches of rain had fallen in isolated places from Houston, Texas northeastward into the state of Louisiana. Seven tornadoes had been reported to the NWS in the two states, and an additional twister near the town of China was reported to the (AP).