Flooding Rain To Severely Impact Texas, South
Heavy rainfall in association with a tropical low will bring significant rainfall to the part of the country that needs it the least: Texas and much of the deep south.
After the wettest month on record state-wide in both Texas and Oklahoma, heavy rain from what is likely to become Tropical Storm Bill could lead to widespread flash flooding across eastern Texas, southeastern Louisiana and potentially a wide swath of the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys.
The center of circulation is expected to pass between Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas later Tuesday, but the heaviest of the storm’s precipitation is expected to be concentrated east of the center. That could potentially put cities such as Houston, Galveston, Port Arthur, Port Lavaca, Matagorda and Victoria at the highest risk of receiving potentially life-threatening flash flooding.
Voluntary evacuations were issued for parts of Galveston, Texas on Monday, with more expected along the Texas coastline as the storm approaches. The city of Houston will activate the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 6pm CDT on Monday in preparation as well.
Virtually the entire state of Texas is significantly above average in terms of year-to-date rainfall. Corpus Christi is 260 percent above average, and Houston is 10″ above normal through Sunday. With saturated ground across the region, additional heavy rainfall – most of it likely in a short amount of time – could lead to widespread flash flooding.
As of 3:00pm CDT, Galveston, Texas had received 0.14″ of rain , with rain totals expected to quickly climb with the outer bands of the tropical system beginning to cycle into southeast Texas later Monday and into early Tuesday morning.
Residents in southeast Texas in particular should prepare for the possibility of losing power for several days, and for those of you in low-lying and flood-prone areas, you should prepare to evacuate now or on short notice.
Source: WeatherNation Flooding Rain To Severely Impact Texas, South | Meteorologist Chris Bianchi