New flash flood threat looms in Texas as heat scorches recovery zone
Scorching heat and sun will challenge recovery efforts in Texas’ flood-ravaged Hill Country, as renewed thunderstorms may trigger more flash flooding this weekend.
Ali Reid is live with survivor and witness testimonials from Camp Mystic and surrounding areas.
One week after deadly flooding devastated parts of Texas Hill Country, recovery efforts now face a new round of challenges. Scorching heat, high humidity, and a renewed threat of flash flooding could complicate cleanup operations across the southern Plains this weekend.
Widespread, repetitive thunderstorms are forecast to develop, including over regions still reeling from the Guadalupe River disaster. Businesses in the area should also prepare for potential disruptions to transportation, supply chains, and power infrastructure as storm impacts escalate, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
While the break from the rain is wanted and underway, the sun and heat can be brutal during July, and the days ahead will be no exception, even though conditions will be fairly typical for the time of the year.
The already high summertime temperatures, combined with intense sunshine, humidity levels and a lack of breeze, will push AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures to near 100 F or higher during the midday and afternoon hours most days into next week.
The climate around the Texas Hill Country northwest of San Antonio is not as humid as areas near the Gulf, such as Houston or Corpus Christi, Texas, nor is it as dry as El Paso or Amarillo, Texas. However, it's humid enough when combined with heat on a given summer day to pose significant challenges for those partaking in the agonizing manual labor of finding the many dozens still missing.
Massive piles of twisted trees, rocks, drying mud and destroyed structures make the task incredibly difficult. Displaced wildlife, such as venomous snakes, also poses a significant risk.
Workers are urged to take frequent rehydration breaks and, when possible, take a break from the intense heat.
On a typical summer day, the region sits along the boundary between humid Gulf air and drier desert air from the west — a clash that often triggers pop-up thunderstorms, some of which can grow large and intense.
The Hill Country will remain in that typical weather regime through the weekend and into early next week, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill explained. Thunderstorm activity is likely to ramp up over the weekend then decrease a bit on Monday and Tuesday, but the tropical setup that triggered the stalled massive complex of thunderstorms is not foreseen in the short term for the Hill Country.
"It should be noted that due to the excessive amount of rain that has fallen over much of Texas and especially the Hill Country over the past month, the ground is much more moist than typical, so any pop-up thunderstorm downpour that occurs can easily trigger localized flash flooding," Merrill said.
In the case of the Texas Hill Country disaster, several months' worth of rain poured down in a few hours. The tremendous downpours meandered slowly downstream, likely adding runoff and force to the surging water.
Search and recovery crews remove debris from the bank of the Guadalupe River on July 9, 2025, in Center Point, Texas. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
The rugged, arid and hardpan landscape in central and western Texas to New Mexico alone is conducive to quick run off during heavy rainfall even when the pattern is drier than usual.
The area from New Mexico to western and northern Texas will be more active in terms of thunderstorms when compared to the Hill Country. "The Dallas-Fort Worth area to perhaps Ruidoso and Roswell, New Mexico, will be most vulnerable to heavy rain and thunderstorms that could produce flash flooding over the weekend," Merrill warned.
In this zone from the southern Plains to the southern Rockies, a front will crawl southward and stall over the weekend, potentially setting up repeating downpours.
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