Texas, Louisiana Brace for More Life-Threatening Flooding as Patricia's Moisture Arrives

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

October 24,2015; 10:20PM,EDT

 

 

Click here for the latest news, videos and photos of the ongoing flooding.
Life-threatening flooding issues will only mount and worsen across more of Texas and Louisiana this weekend as moisture from once-Hurricane Patricia arrives.
Parts of Texas are already dealing with major flooding to start the weekend. One of the hardest-hit areas is around Corsicana, where rainfall totals reached 20 inches.

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Additional severe flooding will unfold across eastern and southern Texas and Louisiana through the remainder of the weekend as the heavy rain shifts to the south and east.
Corpus Christi, Austin and Houston, as well as Shreveport and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, will face the heavy rain and flood risk through this weekend. The central Gulf Coast from around New Orleans, Louisiana, to Pensacola, Florida, will be at risk for the flooding rain Monday.

In addition to the heavy rain, isolated tornadoes threaten to spin up at the coast.
There will be widespread rain amounts of 4-8 inches into Monday. Some other communities will join the Corsicana area in being hit with a foot or more of rain. The threat of such extreme totals is greatest in eastern Texas and western Louisiana.
Areas that first experience flash flooding will be low water crossings, small streams, secondary roads and urban areas that drain poorly. Flooding will only worsen as the rain intensifies and persists over a given area.
Excessive rainfall will cause streams and small rivers to turn into raging waterways and overflow their banks, inundating neighboring roads and homes. The flood waters could lead to the closure of more major highways and interstates, while also affecting rail travel.
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The flooding will become severe enough in some communities to force evacuations and cause some roads and bridges to be washed away.
As was seen in Corsicana on Friday, flood waters could rise faster than officials can close roads with rainfall rates reaching 1-3 inches per hour in the heaviest downpours. Motorists in this situation could become stranded and be put in harm's way.
Never attempt to drive through a flooded roadway. Doing so puts not only you and your occupants at risk for drowning, but also your would-be rescuers.
The current could be strong enough to sweep your vehicle downstream into deeper water as 1-2 feet of water is enough to cause most vehicles to lose control. The water level may rapidly rise across roadways, which may be compromised below the surface.

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Parents are urged to keep their kids away from stream banks and culverts. The bank of a stream can give way, and rapidly rising water can sweep away onlookers.
Even if flooding does not ensue, travel disruptions are likely due to poor visibility and heavy rainfall. Lengthy airline delays are possible. Motorists will need to reduce their speed to lower the risk of hydroplaning.
The main cause of the heavy rain and the flood risk will be tropical moisture from both the Gulf of Mexico and once-Hurricane Patricia.

Patricia rapidly intensified into the strongest hurricane on record early Friday morning and slammed into southwestern Mexico Friday evening with catastrophic force.
The mountainous terrain of Mexico caused Patricia to weaken rapidly, but it will still reach the western Gulf of Mexico as a tropical rainstorm.
There is a slight chance for future tropical development near the Texas coast.
"Winds created by the storm system could reach gale force during Sunday and Sunday night along the Texas and Louisiana coasts," stated AccuWeather Tropical Weather Expert Dan Kottlowski. "This will also bring coastal flooding due to onshore flow, especially during high tide."

Regardless of tropical development or not, it will prolong the rainfall along the Texas coast and into Louisiana.
In portions of Texas and Louisiana, the situation could turn out similar to flooding this past May in the same areas.
"We saw what happened in the spring time and it could certainly be a repeat performance," Kottlowski said.
Drier air will gradually sweep in from west to east across Texas and Louisiana during the first part of the new week. At the same time, tropical moisture will be spreading to the Midwest and Eastern U.S., leading to the most significant rainfall in a few weeks for many of those communities.
Even as the rain comes to an end and smaller streams and rivers return to their banks, larger rivers may rise as the flood waters drain downstream.
There is a long-term benefit to the torrential rain inundating the South Central states--ending the unusually dry spell that resulted in extreme to exceptional drought conditions developing across nearly a quarter of the area from Texas and Oklahoma to Mississippi.
Content contributed by AccuWeather Meteorologists Alex Sosnowski and Brett Rathbun.