Wettest April on record for Houston, but now drier for a few days at least

Well, thank goodness that’s over.

No, the flooding misery for hundreds of thousands of Houston residents hasn’t ended, from the western edges of Harris County (see latest information on Addicks Reservoir), to the northeast around the San Jacinto River, and the southwest near Wharton (which got less than 5 inches of rain, but is feeling the effects of upstream Colorado River flooding).

At least swollen bayous and neighborhoods will no longer be insulted by additional downpours for a few days.

This event has rightly been characterized as the region’s most severe rainfall event since Tropical Storm Allison, and correctly so. It rained a heck of a lot across southeast Texas during the last five days. Here’s a map of satellite rainfall estimates through 1pm CT Thursday.

Rainfall totals for the five days preceding Thursday at 1pm CT. (NOAA)
Rainfall totals for the five days preceding Thursday at 1pm CT. (NOAA)

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Houston’s rain almost done for a couple days

Will Southeast Texas finally catch a few rain-free days? It looks that way, but we still have today to get through: One more round of rain and storms, but then we’ll see a couple days off.

TODAY & FLOOD UPDATE

The radar this morning looks somewhat similar to the way it did 24 hours ago at this time: A cluster of thunderstorms was dropping south toward Austin and College Station and in our general direction.

Radar loop shows storms dropping southeast across Texas this morning. (College of DuPage)
Radar loop shows rain and storms dropping southeast across Texas this morning. (College of DuPage)

As the morning goes on, these will move toward us. I suspect based on models and extrapolating this radar that they’ll arrive around mid to late morning again, perhaps a hair faster than yesterday.

The good news is that similar to yesterday, the rain should continue moving, so it won’t rain for too long over the area. That said, any rain at all will cause minor street flooding in spots and exacerbate some ongoing flooding north and west of Houston. But the bayous, etc. can handle this.

Any lingering showers will end this afternoon, and that should be it for organized rain for a couple days.

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Houston flooding continues, but Mother Nature soon to cooperate

The National Weather Service posted a sobering graphic this afternoon showing major area reservoirs still under flooding pressure from very heavy rains Sunday night and Monday. The US Army Corps of Engineers also said today that water continues to rise in the Addicks and Barker reservoirs in west Harris County, threatening to add additional waters into surrounding neighborhoods.

Click to enlarge. (National Weather Service)
Click to enlarge. (National Weather Service)

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Houston storms moving off, but another round moves in Thursday

A line of storms moved through the flood-stricken Houston area this morning, and as expected generally dropped 0.5 to 1.5 inches of rain. The bulk of the system is now moving off into the Gulf of Mexico, and will clear out entirely by mid-afternoon. Although we could still see a few isolated showers this afternoon and evening, for the most part we’re pretty much done with rain for today and tonight.

Rain accumulated during this morning's storms. (HCOEM)
Rain accumulated during this morning’s storms. (HCOEM)

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