Flash Flooding Swamps Texas; Water Rescues Prompted From Up to 17 Inches of Rain; More Severe Storms Ahead

May 27,2016

Flash flooding from what in some areas has been a record calendar-day rain event swamped parts of Texas Thursday into Friday, as the threat of more severe thunderstorms looms again Friday.

Emergency crews in Bastrop County, Texas, were "overwhelmed with water rescues and other emergency calls" overnight Thursday night, according to a National Weather Service civil emergency message.

(MORE: Latest News on Flooding and Severe Weather)

Storm Total Rainfall and Flood Reports

At least one home was flooded in nearby Caldwell County, Texas, necessitating a rescue. High water rescues were also ongoing early Friday near Buda, Texas.

Some of the worst flooding was between College Station and Houston.

Brenham, Texas, picked up a whopping 16.62 inches of rain Thursday alone, smashing the previous single wettest calendar-day record of 10.38 inches set on October 17, 1994. Incredibly, Thursday alone also topped the previous record for the entire month of May (15.09 inches set just last year) and would also be the fourth wettest month, there. Records date to 1897.

Also, Austin-Bergstrom Airport picked up 8.79 inches Thursday, the second wetttest calendar-day rain at that site dating to 1942. The wettest day at that particular site was just about seven months ago, when a deluge of 12.49 inches on October 30 prompted the airport tower to close.

Flash flooding will continue to be a threat in parts of Texas and other parts of the Plains and Lower Mississipi Valley Friday. Flood watches continue in parts of Kansas, Missouri and Texas.

Current Radar with Watches and Warnings

(MORE: View National Interactive Radar Map | Difference Between a Watch and a Warning)

Thursday and early Friday morning, there were over 260 reports of severe weather, including 17 reports of tornadoes. A tornado just after midday damaged multiple homes in Bryan, Texas.

A thunderstorm approaching Kansas City, Missouri, had a confirmed tornado associated with it. Multiple reports stated that the Kansas City International Airport had to be evacuated due to the incoming severe weather. Travelers were instructed to move into the garage.

Severe thunderstorms will fire up once again in the Plains states Friday with a threat of a few more tornadoes, very large hail, strong winds and flash flooding. This next round of storms will follow what has been several days of severe weather in the central states since this past weekend.
(MORE: Large Kansas Tornado Wednesday | Dodge City's "Near-Miss" | Twin Tornadoes: Not As Rare As You Think)
This extended siege of severe weather is being triggered by ripples of energy ejecting eastward from a southward dip in the jet stream across the West.
On Friday, a stronger upper-level trough will swing through the Plains states, intercepting a warm, muggy air mass. Thus, the threat continues for more severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes.
Below is our latest forecast thinking on the timing and magnitude of this severe weather and flood event into early Saturday.

Severe Weather Forecast

Friday

• Severe thunderstorms may still be rather numerous from parts of southern South Dakota and southern Minnesota to central and east Texas.
• Threats: Flash flooding, damaging wind gusts, large hail and a few tornadoes.
• Cities: Dallas | Austin | Houston

Friday's Thunderstorm Forecast

Additional Rainfall Forecast

Storm Reports Since Saturday

Wednesday: 
Wednesday evening, a long-lived supercell thunderstorms spawned multiple tornadoes in northern Kansas, with damage reported to at least 20 homes.

The tornado narrowly missed the town of Chapman, and passed north of the city of Abilene. Preliminary survey results show that the tornado produced at least EF3 damage.

Preliminary tornado reports associated with the northern Kansas supercell on May 25, 2016. These do not imply the actual number of tornadoes or the precise path of such tornadoes, which will be determined by NWS damage surveys.
(Data: NOAA/NWS/SPC)

For more on Wednesday's storm reports, click here to read our impacts article.
Tuesday: 
Supercell thunderstorms spawned a swarm of tornadoes over western Kansas and in parts of four other states Tuesday.
(MORE: Latest Damage Reports Recap)
Over two dozen reports of tornadoes were received by the National Weather Service (NWS) Tuesday.
Dodge City, Kansas, had a very close call from a slow-moving supercell that spawned tornadoes southwest, west, and north of the city. Storm surveys have begun, and preliminary evidence supports an EF3 rating for tornado damage south-southwest of Dodge City according to the NWS. At times, there were two tornadoes in progress at once from that cyclical supercell.
(MORE: Dodge City, Kansas, Missed Tornado Disaster By Just Three Miles)

Radar, visible satellite, and tornado reports loop over western Kansas showing the tornadic supercells on May 24, 2016, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. CDT.

There were reports of a house being damaged east of Ensign, Kansas. Fortunately, the occupants of the home were said to be fine. After the tornado had passed, damage was reported on the west side of Dodge City, as well as a propane leak on the highway which blocked traffic.
Earlier Tuesday afternoon, there was a hailstorm in and around Denver, where the National Weather Service reported hailstones as large as golf balls. In fact, southeast of the city, hail was reported to be completely covering the ground – in some places so deep that it was considered "plowable."
There were even a pair of confimed tornadoes in Michigan's Upper Peninsula Tuesday, southwest of Marquette, Michigan. These were the first May tornadoes in Marquette County since at least 1973.
It wasn't just tornadoes Tuesday. Over six inches of rain triggered severe flash flooding in northeast Arkansas, including the city of Jonesboro.

For more on Tuesday's storm reports, click here to read our impacts article.
Monday:
On Monday evening, tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma and Texas. A tornado was spotted on the ground just north of Woodward, Oklahoma. No damage was reported in the area. Another tornado was later reported near Northfield, Texas.

There were a few baseball-size hail reports near Sanderson, Texas, Monday evening. In Silverton, Texas, there was a minor accumulation of 0.75-inch to 1-inch hailstones. Hail the size of golf balls fell west of McLean, Texas.
Additionally on Monday evening, quarter-size hail covered a portion of I-40 near Lake McClellan, Texas, and 60 mph wind gusts from the same severe thunderstorm overturned a semi-truck along I-40 in the same area. Injures were reported with the overturned semi-truck.
Sunday:
There were multiple reports of tornadoes Sunday evening across Texas, Kansas and South Dakota.
A tornado touched down near Howardwick, Texas, and another tornado was spotted south of Interstate 20 near Big Springs, Texas. A large tornado near Waka, Texas, knocked down a quarter-mile row of power lines. In Kansas, a half-mile wide wedge tornado was reported near Lydia. No major damage has been reported in all of the areas mentioned above.

Hail the size of tennis balls (2.50 inches) led to broken car windows near Post, Texas, Sunday evening, and hail as large as teacups (3 inches) was spotted near Elbow, Texas. Farther north in Nebraska, hail coated the ground near Mullen, where severe thunderstorms left residents without power.
Saturday:
Severe weather began late Saturday, but it was confined to parts of eastern Montana, western Kansas and western Texas. There was at least one tornado in Wichita County, Kansas, Saturday evening but no damage was reported.

Setup For Severe Weather

Severe weather is common in the spring when a southward dip in the jet stream (upper trough) pushes eastward from the Rockies to the Plains states.
That weather pattern is on display through Friday.
A trough of low pressure aloft across the western U.S. will continue to move very slowly eastward on Friday. As disturbances swing around the base of the trough and eject eastward from the Rocky Mountains to the Plains, a surge of deep moisture will ride northward from the warm Gulf of Mexico.
Meanwhile, winds aloft (low level jet) coming out of the south will be increasing in intensity. This combination is an ideal recipe for severe thunderstorms to develop.

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MORE: Plains Severe Weather - May 9, 2016 (Photo Gallery)