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Flooding forced evacuations and closed schools and roads across parts of East Texas Thursday, including in the Houston area.
“The heaviest rain has fallen in a swath from around Lake Conroe to Lake Livingston in east Texas, including the city of Huntsville. Rainfall totals over the past 24 hours have ranged from 7 to 12 inches in that zone,” weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said Thursday afternoon. “Parts of the north Houston metro, as well as areas around Beaumont, have picked up 5 to 8 inches of rain.”
Several school districts closed or delayed school, and also announced closures for Friday.
Harris County meteorologist and flood control director Jeff Lindner said the flooding was “widespread and dangerous” and water rescues were taking place in northeast Houston suburbs.
Drone footage shared to social media showed significant river flooding in Livingston, about 70 miles northeast of Houston.
A road is washed out in Walker County, Texas on Thursday, May 2, 2024.
(Walker County Pct 4 Commissioners Office via Facebook)
Flash flooding and river flooding were ongoing in many other areas as well.
Flash flood warnings were issued for several areas to the north and east of the Houston metro and several highways were closed due to flooding around the region.
Evacuations were ordered for people living along the San Jacinto River in Harris County, where Houston is located. The county’s top elected official, Judge Lina Hidalgo, called it a “life-threatening situation.”
Residents along the Trinity River in San Jacinto County also were ordered to evacuate. Shelters opened in the nearby towns of Coldspring and Shepherd. The area is about 40 miles northeast of Houston.
Eighteen river gauges were forecast to reach major flood stage in east Texas, including stretches of the Trinity, Navasota and San Jacinto Rivers and some will likely stay above flood stage into next week.
“Unfortunately, more rain and thunderstorms are possible Thursday night into Friday morning, then again this weekend before drier weather moves in to start the work week next week,” Erdman said.
The weather was the latest in a rash of storms to pound the Plains and Midwest.
From Thursday through the weekend, 130 tornadoes were either confirmed by the National Weather Service or sighted by storm spotters. At least five people were killed.
Storms on Tuesday left one person dead in the rural Kansas town of Westmoreland, about 100 miles northwest of Kansas City.
More severe weather is on its way to the region next week. Get the full forecast here.
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Weather.com reporter Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.