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You are at: NWS Home » SRH Home » SR News » Record June Rains
Record June rainfall for Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana
 A powerful, slow moving upper level storm system combined with deep tropical moisture continued to produce heavy rainfall and severe flooding across much of North Central and Southeast Texas as the month of June 2004 drew to a close. With the official monitoring station at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport recording a record 18 days of rain, it was a month north Texans would not soon forget. The previous record was 17 days, set in 1940.
DFW Airport recorded the second wettest June on record with a total of 10.49", more than seven inches above the norm and just short of the record 11.58" that fell in June of 1928. Houston International Airport also recorded its second wettest June with 18.33", nearly 13" above normal and just short of the 2001 record of 19.21" (resulting from Tropical Storm Allison which dumped more than three feet of rain in portions of Harris County). San Antonio more than doubled the norm with 9.47" (record was 11.95" in 1986) and Austin saw nearly three times the norm with 11.41" (record was 15.59" in 1981). And during the 24 hour period ending June 29th, a record 2.64" of rain was recorded at the official DFW monitoring station -- topping the previous record of 1.57" set in 1943.
According to the Southern Region Climate Center in Baton Rouge, LA, the statewide average rainfall for Texas during the month of June was 6.23" -- just half an inch behind the 1899 record of 6.72". It is also worthy of note that no organized tropical storm system contributed to the excessive rainfall recorded during the month of June.
At least five Texas deaths have been attributed to severe weather in June, including: a 17 year old who died when his car was swept into a flood swollen Fort Worth creek; a 16 year old Fort Worth student who drowned in the Trinity River; a 52 year old Amarillo man who was crushed when high winds overturned his pontoon boat; a 72 year old Fort Worth man who was killed when a brief tornado leveled a workshop; and a 14 year old Houston boy who was sucked into a storm drain while attempting to jump on an inner tube.
June began with violent storms in north Texas that caused a record 500,000 power outages in the DFW area, damage to hundreds of homes and more than 30 high water rescues. Following a short reprieve, the latter half of the month would prove even more damaging. While baseball to softball sized hail, high winds and isolated tornadoes swept through the Texas Panhandle and thousands of homes and cars in Potter County (Amarillo) sustained serious hail damage -- most of the major impacts across Texas were flood related.
In the DFW area, numerous highways and roads were underwater; dozens of homes and businesses sustained damage; 55 high water rescues were reported; and, the Fort Worth Zoo and Six Flags amusement park (Arlington) were forced to close after more than 500 people were evacuated.
During the month of June, Weather Forecast Offices (WFO) in Amarillo, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Austin/San Antonio, Fort Worth, Houston, Lubbock, Midland, and San Angelo, TX and Lake Charles and Shreveport, LA issued a total of 688 Flash Flood Warnings with an average lead time of nearly 76 minutes and 70 Tornado Warnings with an average lead time of nearly 14 minutes. They also issued 862 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for the month.
The WFOs also worked closely with the National Weather Service SRH Operations Center and the West Gulf River Forecast Center -- participating in numerous daily conference calls with the Texas Department of Emergency Management, FEMA and local emergency managers throughout the state.
"Considering the length and severity of the weather that plagued the state in June, I believe we can credit the hard work and dedication to our staffs in the field and Southern Region Headquarters for helping to minimize the loss of life and property damage," said Bill Proenza, Director of the National Weather Service Southern Region. "I commend all of our people for doing an outstanding job under difficult circumstances."
A welcome dry spell is now forecast for most of the Lone Star State. But excessive runoff has led to moderate and major flooding across much of south central and southeast Texas, with key impacts being felt along the Guadalupe, Medina, Frio, Nueces and San Antonio rivers. Additional moderate to major flooding is anticipated as a secondary surge moves southward over the holiday weekend.
While the copious amounts of rain and flooding have severely tried the patience of millions of Texans in June, there is a positive side to all the severe weather. With the advent of the Texas' notoriously hot and dry summer season -- the increased water levels of its reservoirs, river and aquifers help to insure adequate water supplies for citizens throughout the state. |
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