Heavy Rain, Flooding Set to Soak Parts of Texas

Central, west and southwestern Texas will be the focal point of heavy rain with the potential for flooding over the next few days. 

A very humid airmass with its origins from the Tropics to the area's south, a series of disturbances aloft and the geography of the region will be the ingredients that come together that will help this rain to fall. 

Some locations in the area mentioned above have already seen 3 to 5 inches of rain last night and an additional 5 to 9 inches of rain is expected over the past couple of days. This will likely lead to flooding concerns. 

Many spots in this area are rocky, meaning that rain will just runoff into normally dry creeks that are already full. This will lead to further water rises in these creeks. Locations that already have soils that are saturated or close to saturated will lead to runoff in these areas as well. As has been well documented in the past in this part of the country, the evolution from heavy rainfall to flash flooding can happen very quickly in this setup and can turn life-threatening in a flash. 

Flood Watches are in place across a huge region of central, west and southwest Texas, along the Rio Grande River extending several hundred miles to its north. This includes the Hill Country of central Texas, the Big Bend Country and the South Texas Plains. Some cities in this flood watch are Fort Stockton, Pecos, Sanderson, San Antonio and Austin. Remember if a roadway is flooded, "Turn Around, Don't Drown!". This will likely lead to travel delays across this region of the country.

Flooding is a leading cause of weather-related fatalities with more than half of flood-related casualties occurring in automobiles when attempting to cross high water. Just six inches of fast-flowing water can sweep a grown adult away while twelve inches can overtake small cars. It is never safe to drive or walk through floodwaters, always remember to turn around don't drown.

Exercise caution when going out on the roads during or after a downpour. If you encounter a water-covered roadway, be sure to “Turn Around, Don’t Drown” because the water could be much deeper than it appears.