Another round of tumultuous weather hit large areas of Texas and Oklahoma last week bringing violent thunderstorms, flash floods, wind damage and large hail that blasted farms and ranches and communities causing severe damages and breaking many local rainfall records.
Last week's storms represent only the latest barrage of unstable weather across the region this spring. Significant weather events in March and again in April crippled eastern parts of Texas and southern Louisiana and parts of the Texas Coastal Bend with record flooding, reversing a late winter trend toward drought conditions in some areas following an early wet fall last year.
Across the region, widespread hail storms damaged some crops, flooded rivers, streams and fields, shutdown agricultural operations in some areas and closed roads and highways, resulting in numerous water rescues in cities including San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Houston.
Farmers from South and East Texas suffered crop losses, forcing many to consider replanting corn and some sorghum fields as a result of lodging caused by high winds and water-soaked soils, but damages were not excessive. Producers also report stranded, lost and injured livestock—scattered or injured by floodwaters and hail that in a few isolated spots measured three or more inches in size.
For many, the storm event last week represents the third time in as many months that record or near-record rainfall has saturated field and pasture and caused evacuations in both rural and urban areas.
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ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION
Hardest hit by heavy rains and floods were the Texas Coastal Bend where as much as 17 inches of rain fell in isolated areas over the last seven days and in Southeast Texas, including Houston, where the wettest 12-month period on record was noted. Parts of the Texas Winter Garden, San Antonio and the adjacent Texas Hill Country experienced high winds, some hail and heavy flooding last week.
Houston currently measures 24.8 inches of precipitation above average for this 12-month period, with Abilene, Dallas, and Austin also 20 to 25 inches above average over the past 12 months. Houston received more than 74 inches of rain in the past 12 months, placing it as the wettest 12-month period ending on May 12 of any year on record.
Thunderstorms dumped more than a foot of rain and led to flood-related rescues in Corpus Christi, caused raw sewage to spill into a creek, and resulted in a water boil order by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. As of this writing the city is in day seven of that order after a second flood event saw a repeat of the sewage spill. No injuries were reported in Monday's floods last week in Corpus Christi, but emergency management officials reported high-water rescues from vehicles and low-lying areas, and residents were evacuated from their homes in Aransas Pass and in Ingleside.
National Weather Service forecaster Penny Zabel at the national Weather Service in Corpus Christi said the area has received 10 to 15 inches of rain across the Coastal Bend over the last seven days with isolated areas reporting slightly more.
COASTAL BEND HARD HIT
The Coastal Bend, specifically Kleberg, Nueces, San Patricio, Aransas, and Refugio counties, experienced significant heavy rain events that began on the morning of May 15th, 2016, and ended on May 16th, 2016. As much as 10 to 15 inches of rainfall fell during that period and by Sunday (May 22) weekly accumulations had reached nearly 17 inches in parts of Nueces County.
In addition to several hundred homes that were flooded in Ingleside and Aransas Pass, many roads and highways were closed due to high water. Numerous water rescues occurred in San Patricio and Nueces counties. Many schools and businesses either delayed opening or remained closed on Monday until flood water receded.
In the Rio Grande Valley, more moderate rainfall amounts have been recorded over the course of the week, mostly considered beneficial rain events.
Omar Montemayor, AgriLife Extension agent in Starr County, said most row crops there are not irrigated and needed moisture. He said grain sorghum, sunflower and corn crops were becoming stressed from the lack of rain in recent weeks. By Sunday, an additional 2 to 3 inches of rain were recorded across parts of the Valley over the weekend—also termed beneficial for area crops and pastures.
Most Valley crops were planted by mid-February and no significant rain had fallen until the last week, he said. It had been hot and sunny for weeks, and producers were getting worried the same pattern might persist into the heart of summer.