The current flood situation across Texas is not too dissimilar to what we saw in the Carolinas just 2 weeks ago. A separate system, this time pushing eastwards from the Four Corners, slows and draws on rich Gulf moisture which dumps 10+ inches of rain causing flash flooding.

Then the beast that was Hurricane Patricia slams west coast Mexico and as the structural core gets torn apart, the huge volume of tropical moisture gets lifted over Mexico and western Gulf, injecting the Gulf system and overrunning surface front adding additional flooding rainfall. It’s the moisture from Patricia, like Joaquin in the Carolinas, it’s enhanced moisture from the deeper tropics that’s pushed totals towards 2 feet within a matter of days.

Houston-Galveston radar early Sunday morning.

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As Well as the excessive rainfall, gales are battering the Texas coast too.

Nice satellite view of Patricia at her peak as a 879mb, Cat 5 record breaker!

Winds sustained at a rare 200 mph, gusts 245 mph. This was a record breaker for not just lowest central pressure in western hemisphere but also fastest for going from storm to Cat 5 within 24 hours.

The system decayed as fast as it intensified, going from Cat 5 to a depression within 21 hours. AMAZING! That’s what the rough topography of Mexico does to tropical cyclones! However it didn’t stop the rains from causing major flooding and landslides across the heart of Mexico and moisture from streaming north into the system drenching Texas.

Corsicana has also seen an astonishing 6 MONTHS worth of rain within a mere 35 hours.

Incredibly, it would appear the Texas drought has been erased for a second time in a matter of months!

This returned following the first drought wipe out at the end of May thanks to a dry June-August period!

Then deluged number two came.

Estimated NAM rainfall totals through Monday.

Unusually warm water certainly helped fuel Patricia’s power as well as enhanced rains for Mexico and the Southern US.

See this evening’s video for the discussion.

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Tags: el nino, hurricane patricia, texas drought, texas flood, texas rain