Slow-moving storms are drenching much of central Texas this week as a disturbance in the upper atmosphere collides with summer humidity to produce heavy rains.
Flood alerts cover much of central Texas, including San Antonio, Austin and the Houston suburbs. By Tuesday afternoon, some areas had received as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain, according to the US National Weather Service, with several more on the way and the potential for “life-threatening flooding” through Thursday.
The heaviest rain is expected across the Texas Hill Country west of San Antonio, where as much as 20 inches could fall by the end of the week. The region is still recovering from severe floods last July that killed at least 160 people, including dozens of children and counselors at Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River.
“It’s a flash flood-prone area, so there’s most likely going to be some serious issues,” said Bob Oravec, a senior branch forecaster with the Weather Prediction Center. “You can’t always forecast exactly where the rain’s going to hit in the most flood-prone basins, but it’s definitely a big risk.”
Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday issued a disaster declaration for 59 Texas counties, over 20% of all of the counties in Texas. Abbott also directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management on Tuesday to continue 24-hour operations of emergency services at an escalated response level.
The timing of the rainfall can cause dangerous issues. Summer storms in the central US tend to drop their heaviest rains overnight, triggering safety alerts as flooding becomes imminent. Those alerts may come while people are sleeping, which was the problem at Camp Mystic, Oravec said.
Road closures have been reported across parts of the state, with flooding impacting roads west of San Antonio, according to Drive Texas. Texas Flood, which tracks river levels in the state among other conditions, has identified moderate flooding at the Tres Palacios River southeast of San Antonio as of 1:30 p.m. local time.
“This area has a lot of campers and people coming in from other locations that don’t know how quickly things can escalate,” said Orlando Bermudez, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New Braunfels, Texas. “Please be on the alert.”
Photo: Clouds gather over the state highway 87 ahead of Hurricane Laura in Sabine Pass, Texas, U.S., on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. Hurricane Laura is poised to become a roof-ripping Category 3 storm when it comes ashore along the Texas-Louisiana coast, threatening to inflict as much as $12 billion of damage on the region and potentially shutting 12% of U.S. refining capacity for months. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
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