Austin, TX – A major flood threat is developing across Texas as multiple National Weather Service offices warn that several rounds of heavy rainfall could bring flash flooding, flooded roads and dangerous rises on creeks and rivers through at least Wednesday.
According to the National Weather Service, Flood Watches have been issued across broad sections of Central, South, Southeast and West Texas as a tropical air mass combines with a stalled frontal boundary to produce repeated rounds of thunderstorms.
The largest watch area stretches from the Hill Country and Interstate 35 corridor through San Antonio, Austin and surrounding communities, where forecasters warn that isolated locations could receive more than 8 inches of rain by Tuesday evening. Rainfall rates may exceed 2 to 3 inches per hour in the strongest storms.
Additional Flood Watches cover the Houston metropolitan area, the upper Texas Gulf Coast, Corpus Christi, Victoria, Laredo, San Angelo and portions of Central Texas including Temple, Killeen and surrounding communities. Forecasters say widespread totals of 2 to 4 inches are likely in many locations, with isolated amounts between 6 and 8 inches possible.
The threat is being driven by deep tropical moisture moving northward from the Gulf of Mexico, a slow-moving frontal boundary and an area of low pressure near eastern Mexico. These ingredients are expected to support repeated thunderstorms moving over the same areas.
Meteorologists warn that life-threatening flash flooding could develop quickly, especially in low-water crossings, urban areas, flood-prone neighborhoods and along smaller streams and creeks. Several forecast offices specifically highlighted the possibility of dangerous flooding where storms repeatedly track over the same locations.
Residents are urged to monitor forecasts closely, have multiple ways to receive weather warnings and never drive through flooded roadways. Officials emphasize that most flood-related fatalities occur in vehicles attempting to cross water-covered roads.
The flood threat is expected to continue through Tuesday in many areas and into Wednesday morning across portions of Southeast Texas.
