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Texas Flood: River And Lake Levels Expected To Rise With New Incoming Severe Weather Threat

By Noelle Nicholas
Published on: 03:59 PST, May 29, 2015

When it rains it pours, as they say. Texas has gone from one extreme to another this week as recent rains pummeled the state, causing lake and river levels to rise drastically.

For the last several months, the state of Texas has been in the throes of a drought. When the first drops began to fall, it was a welcome sight, but as the rain continued, it quickly turned from a pleasant dream into a nightmare. Texas lake and river levels have swelled to many feet above normal, making nearby homes and businesses unsafe.

In the Texas tourist town of Wimberley, a vacation home was swept from its foundation and rushed down the Blanco river to be smashed into a bridge. Sadly, only one person was rescued from the wreckage. According to Time, the remaining victims, which included small children, are still missing.

The levels of the Blanco river in Texas rose to over three times the flood stage of 13 feet, cresting at over 40 feet. There is a very serious threat of more incoming severe weather that has the potential to hamper the ongoing search for missing victims. The following video shows the horrendous destruction suffered by residents in Texas when the lake dam in Bastrop State Park failed, furiously spewing lake water onto the shore.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott compared the sheer power of the lake and river flash flooding in Texas to that of a tsunami.

“This is the biggest flood this area of Texas has ever seen. It is absolutely massive — the relentless tsunami-type power of this wave of water. “It’s devastating to see what I saw on the Blanco River when this tidal wave of water just swept away neighborhoods.”

Mark Wiley, a National Weather Service meteorologist from Fort Worth Texas, shares his opinion on how long the lake and river levels will take to return to normal.

“Six months ago, we were dying for this stuff. And now we’re saying, ‘Please, please stop.’ There’s so much water in Texas and Oklahoma that it’s going to take quite a while for those rivers to recede,” he explained.

Texas lake and river levels will continue to rise even with normal rain, but with the state set to endure another barrage of inclement weather, there’s no telling how high the river and lake levels will rise before the final crest.

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