More Flooding Headed to Texas, Oklahoma This Week

By Brian Lada, Meteorologist

May 12,2015; 5:57PM,EDT

 

 

Heavy rain through midweek and additional thunderstorms to follow later in the week will put Texas and Oklahoma at risk for flooding.
This is coming after a wet and stormy weekend when several inches of rain fell across the Plains which led to flash flooding.
Midweek appears to be the wettest part of the week as a band of rain tracks in a southwest-to-northeast fashion from southern New Mexico and West Texas to north-central Texas and Oklahoma through Wednesday evening. The rain will spread across the central Plains Wednesday night.
Some areas from central Texas to central Oklahoma will pick up over 4 inches of rain by the end of Wednesday.
Rainfall rates are likely to exceed 1 inch an hour during the heaviest downpours which can quickly result in flooding issues. This will lead to widespread disruptions due to flooding, especially for low-lying and poor-drainage areas.
A small number of thunderstorms embedded in the rain may turn severe for a time with the greatest threat expected across southern Texas.
While tornadoes are not anticipated to be a danger with these storms, winds can occasionally gust past 60 mph. This is strong enough to bring down tree branches, blow around lawn furniture and cause sporadic power outages.

Motorists should use caution when driving across the southern Plains this week and be on the lookout for flooded roadways while driving.
Some roads may become impassable due to high water following torrential downpours, forcing motorists to find an alternate route to their destination.
Trying to venture through the high water could become life threatening. The water may be deeper than it appears and cause the vehicle that you are in to stall in the water or be swept away.
Those at the airport may also face delays due to the unsettled weather and the downpours reducing visibility, making it more difficult for pilots to take off and land.

Travel will not be the only disruption brought by the heavy rain.
Water levels are likely to rise over the next several days in streams and rivers across the region with some potentially reaching flood stage.
People that live in flood-prone areas should take the proper precautions and prepare for if the stream or river near them jumps out of its banks.
View the latest flood watches and warnings at the AccuWeather.com Severe Weather Center.
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Rain and thunderstorm activity is forecast to decrease heading into Thursday and Friday, but these days will be far from dry for the southern Plains. With the ground saturated, any downpour could trigger or renew flooding.
However, there will be more breaks in the rain, allowing people several windows throughout the day to go outside without needing an umbrella.
Those that need to accomplish work outside this week may want to consider deferring their plans to either Thursday or Friday rather than having to deal with the deluge of rain at midweek.
Know when the rain will start and stop for your exact location by using AccuWeather.com MinuteCast®.

More unsettled weather is expected to move in for the weekend as a low pressure ejects out of the Rocky Mountains, delivering more rain and thunderstorms to the Plains.
This system will bring the next threat of a widespread severe weather outbreak that spans across multiple states.
Continue to check back with AccuWeather.com throughout the week for more updates concerning this severe potential.
This week's rain and thunderstorms are not all doom and gloom for the region.
Parts of Texas and Oklahoma continue to experience drought conditions with the worst of the drought focusing around southwestern Oklahoma.
While this week's rain will not be a drought buster, it should still put a noticeable dent in the drought, which good news for farmers and ranchers in this part of the country.
This improvement to the drought was highlighted in AccuWeather's 2015 Summer Outlook.
According to the seasonal forecast, "showers and storms will improve the drought conditions across northern and northwestern Texas, but the region could dry out again as rain falls mainly west of these areas during midsummer."
AccuWeather.com Expert Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok added to this saying how it could have an impact on temperatures across the region.
"It's not as dry going into this summer season across the entire southern Plains, and I think that will have an impact on how high and how consistently we'll hit above 90 F this year," Pastelok said.