Inches of rain across Texas beneficial and problematic
A slow-moving storm will continue to bring heavy rain and flooding to parts of Texas as it swings toward the lower Mississippi Valley.
Torrential rain fell in parts of Texas on March 27, leading to severe flooding in cities like McAllen and Weslaco.
When it rains, it pours in Texas. The storm that began to affect the Lone Star State on Wednesday will finish up on Friday, with still some risk of flooding.
As heavy rain continued to pour down across southeastern Texas, fire officials from the city of Alamo in Hidalgo County confirmed at least 50 water rescues on Thursday.
The drenching showers and thunderstorms first erupted along the Rio Grande Valley from southern New Mexico to the Gulf Coast Wednesday. From there, the main storm moved slowly along to the northeast, along the western Gulf Coast.
While the storm and its heavy rain have pushed away from interior South Texas, it will continue to bring heavy rain to coastal and northeastern areas of the state as it moves into the south-central region of the U.S. as it moves along. The storm is in a perfect position to tap rich Gulf moisture and wring it out in the form of drenching downpours and locally gusty thunderstorms.
Some of the thunderstorms that erupt into Friday over southern and eastern Texas can be severe with strong wind gusts, large hail and a few tornadoes, but the longer-term impacts from this evolving storm system will be from heavy rainfall.
Which areas will get the most rain?
Enough rain will pour down in coastal and even central parts of Texas and later Louisiana to lead to flash flooding in rural and urban areas. Some of the rivers in the region will experience quick rises as well. However, because the heaviest rain has been focused relatively close to the coast, most rivers will stay within their banks. The problems will stem from small streams, along normally dry washes and in urban areas that drain poorly.
Motorists should be prepared for dangerous conditions in low-water crossings in rural areas, ponding on highways, and even flooding that may occur on some city streets.
The cities of Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi and Victoria, Texas, will be thoroughly drenched from the storm, while areas farther north and west in Dallas, and Lafayette and Shreveport, Louisiana, will also receive a good soaking. South Texas was swamped with heavy rain during the storm's early stages.
Roadways were closed as thunderstorms caused flash flooding in areas of Texas on March 27.
South Padre Island, Texas, picked up 7.25 inches in 8 hours as of Thursday morning. Heavy thunderstorms Thursday night triggered a flash flood emergency for Harlingen, Texas. As of early Friday morning, the city recorded 14.08 inches since Wednesday night.
Along a portion of the central Texas coast to I-35, 4-8 inches of rain are forecast to fall with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 21 inches. While this amount of rainfall is on par with a tropical storm, it is not a tropical system as it lacks surface features and structure.
Storm to ease drought in many areas
Rainfall deficits in Victoria, for example, have fluctuated from 40-65% of the historical average during last fall and into this winter. However, since Feb. 1, prior to the current storm, rainfall has been less than 25% of the historical average. Since March 1, that has dropped to a mere 6%.
The limited rain over many months and very little rain in recent weeks have significantly increased drought conditions. In some areas south and west of Houston, extreme to exceptional drought conditions exist. So where any rain falls in these areas, it will be extremely beneficial.
Next stop for the storm
The same storm system will slowly move into the Mississippi Valley by the weekend, where it may initially inhibit severe weather farther to the north and west. However, that may only briefly delay a potential severe weather outbreak later this weekend to early next week in the Central and Eastern states.
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