Deadly Texas flooding: Officials rescue dozens of families, animals along swollen Brazos River

By Renee Duff, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

June 1,2016; 9:25PM,EDT

 

 

Rounds of strong storms will raise the flood risk across the south-central United States through Saturday, including already inundated areas in eastern Texas.
A system crawling eastward will induce daily doses of flooding rain and storms across Texas and Oklahoma throughout the week.
In Fort Bend County, just southeast of Houston, the Brazos River rose to a record level of 54 feet, according to the National Weather Service. Local residents were forced to evacuate and officials performed dozens of water rescues in the region.
In Rosenberg, Texas, which sits along the river, 150 homes were evacuated on Monday. The mandatory evacuation zone was expanded on Wednesday morning as the river continued to rise.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 31 Texas counties as a result of the severe weather and flooding.
Police evacuated residents from this area of northern Rosenberg, Texas, on Tuesday. (Twitter photo/@RosenbergPolice)
Police rescued this dog who was found chained to a fence in a flooded neighborhood in Fort Bend County, Texas. (Twitter photo/@@SheriffTNehls)
Flooding in the central U.S. killed at least six over the past week, including a 10-year-old boy who was swept into the Brazos River while fishing on Saturday.
In rural Simonton, Texas, widespread flooding forced livestock to move to higher ground. One house surrounded by water filed horses onto the porch to keep them out of danger.
Government officials were called in to rescue other livestock throughout the county.
Rescue officials in Fort Bend County, Texas, worked to lead horses out of high water on Tuesday. (Facebook photo/Texas Rescue 1)
With more storms in store through Saturday, additional flooding is likely.
"Some parts of Texas have received between 150 and 200 percent of their normal rainfall since the start of the year," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun said.
Any rainfall during this week's deluge will struggle to soak into the water-logged soil.
The heaviest storms are expected to impact Oklahoma and central and western Texas through Wednesday night, before shifting into eastern Texas, including Houston, by Thursday.
A few of the strongest storms could produce large hail and locally damaging winds.

A couple of inches of rain could fall in as many hours under the heaviest storms. Under 2 inches of rain in an hour will be enough to cause flash flooding in most of central Texas.
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Total rainfall amounts could exceed half a foot in some locations by the end of the week. Motorists are reminded to turn around and find an alternate route whenever a flooded roadway is encountered to avoid a potentially life-threatening situation.
Floodwaters overtook this area in Rosenberg, Texas, on Tuesday. (Facebook photo/Texas Department of Transportation)
Stormy conditions are likely to continue over the region, even as the pattern shifts into next week.
"Dry air will push southward over a large part of the southern Plains next week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.
"Air moist enough to produce daily showers and thunderstorms may linger over central and southeastern Texas during much of next week," Sosnowski said.
However, the storms are not expected to produce widespread rainfall.
Content contributed by AccuWeather Staff Writer Katy Galimberti.