Flooding may remain a concern for the Central Texas area, according to meteorologists.
Weekend rainfall led to flooding within the city of Lampasas, and officials said flooding concerns in Central Texas may continue this week.
On Saturday at 1 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for over half of its Fort Worth/Dallas coverage region, including Lampasas, Coryell, Bell, Hamilton and surrounding counties. Counties to the west and south and a number of counties in Oklahoma were included in the watch.
Early Sunday morning, authorities encouraged residents of the Lampasas County area to move to higher ground in a flash flood warning. As of 3:15 a.m. that day, “four to six inches of rain has fallen across Lampasas County over the past couple of hours,” National Weather Service Dallas/Fort Worth meteorologists stated on social media.
Rainfall occurred throughout the day on Sunday, leading to flooding. Lampasas Police Department authorities posted videos of Sulphur Creek rising nearly to the level of the W.M. Brook Park foot bridge. At 5:22 p.m. Sunday, parts of Lampasas, Coryell and Bell counties received heavy rainfall, with meteorologists citing flash-flooding as a primary concern.
Storm systems continued to move northeastward. At about 3 a.m. Monday, NWS officials issued a flash flood warning for the north Hamilton County area as well.
A short-range forecast discussion issued by the NWS Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland stated that much of the continental United States will continue to see heavy rainfall in the coming days.
“A moisture-rich summertime airmass remains in place ahead of a quasi-stationary frontal boundary draped from the Northeast southwest through the Ohio/Middle Mississippi Valleys and into the Southern Plains/Texas, continuing to promote widespread daily thunderstorm development with heavy rainfall.”
As of Monday morning, NWS meteorologists assessed the risk of additional flooding.
“A slight risk is also in place across portions of Central Texas where antecedent conditions remain more sensitive to additional rain given recent rainfall and flooding,” the forecast said.
The forecast for Lampasas County includes a slight chance of thunderstorms, about 20%, after 1 p.m. on Tuesday. The remainder of the week is anticipated to see no additional local rainfall.
RAINFALL DATA
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather data recorded a quarter-inch of rainfall in Lampasas County on Saturday and another 0.8 inches on Sunday.
Preliminary data recorded by the NWS showed 11.78 inches of rainfall since June 1, with 6.2 inches falling within the last two weeks.
The total rainfall recorded this calendar year to date is 25.54 inches, which is five inches higher than normal.
