By — Andrew Mach Andrew Mach Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/rain-hits-texas-causes-new-damage-ahead-dry-forecasts Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Texas gets more rain but no new damage ahead of drier forecasts Nation May 31, 2015 3:15 PM EDT More rain fell across Texas Saturday night but caused no major new problems, after the onslaught of severe weather during the week killed dozens and prompted President Barack Obama to declare a state of emergency in the state. About 3.5 inches of rain fell in parts of Houston and surrounding Harris County, and more than 3 inches fell in Laredo Saturday afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service. Still, no new evacuations were ordered or recommended — and some were even lifted — as weather forecasts predicted the rain was likely to let up this week. At least 31 people have died in the storms that began in Texas and Oklahoma over Memorial Day weekend, and 11 were still missing Saturday, the Associated Press reported, as flood waters continued to devastate areas around Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The bodies of two women were recovered on Saturday from the Blanco River in Hays County, the sheriff’s office said in a statement, Reuters reported, ordering autopsies to identify them. Cattle in a pasture adjacent to FM 730 as areas flood around Boyd, Texas, on Saturday, May 30, 2015. Photo by Paul Moseley/Fort Worth Star-Telegram Even though parts of the state have been suffering a moderate drought, flooding in other areas has turned streets in to rivers, destroyed homes and trapped people in cars and houses, as torrential rains have dropped trillions of gallons of water across the state for more than 10 days. President Obama signed a disaster declaration on Friday making funds available to help rebuild areas of Harris, Hays and Van Zandt counties, where damages are already estimated to exceed tens of millions of dollars. Earlier in the week, the Texas Department of Transportation had already estimated the road and bridge damage at $35 million. Meteorologists say enough rain has fallen in the past 30 days that it could cover the entire state of Texas with eight inches of water, making May the state’s wettest month on record, according to Texas A&M climatologists. There has been enough rain across #Texas during May to cover the entire state nearly 8 inches deep. That’s over 35 trillion gallons! #txwx — NWS Fort Worth (@NWSFortWorth) May 29, 2015 We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Andrew Mach Andrew Mach Andrew Mach is a former Digital Editor for PBS NewsHour in New York City, where he manages the online editorial direction of the national broadcast's weekend edition. Formerly, Mach was a news editor and staff writer for NBC News. He's also written for the Christian Science Monitor in Boston and had stints at ABC News, the Washington Post and German network ZDF in Berlin, in addition to reporting for an investigative journalism project in Phoenix. Mach was a recipient of the 2016 Kiplinger Fellowship, the 2015 RIAS German/American Exchange fellowship by the Radio Television Digital News Foundation and the 2012 Berlin Capital Program Fulbright. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is a native of Aberdeen, South Dakota. @andrewjmach
More rain fell across Texas Saturday night but caused no major new problems, after the onslaught of severe weather during the week killed dozens and prompted President Barack Obama to declare a state of emergency in the state. About 3.5 inches of rain fell in parts of Houston and surrounding Harris County, and more than 3 inches fell in Laredo Saturday afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service. Still, no new evacuations were ordered or recommended — and some were even lifted — as weather forecasts predicted the rain was likely to let up this week. At least 31 people have died in the storms that began in Texas and Oklahoma over Memorial Day weekend, and 11 were still missing Saturday, the Associated Press reported, as flood waters continued to devastate areas around Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The bodies of two women were recovered on Saturday from the Blanco River in Hays County, the sheriff’s office said in a statement, Reuters reported, ordering autopsies to identify them. Cattle in a pasture adjacent to FM 730 as areas flood around Boyd, Texas, on Saturday, May 30, 2015. Photo by Paul Moseley/Fort Worth Star-Telegram Even though parts of the state have been suffering a moderate drought, flooding in other areas has turned streets in to rivers, destroyed homes and trapped people in cars and houses, as torrential rains have dropped trillions of gallons of water across the state for more than 10 days. President Obama signed a disaster declaration on Friday making funds available to help rebuild areas of Harris, Hays and Van Zandt counties, where damages are already estimated to exceed tens of millions of dollars. Earlier in the week, the Texas Department of Transportation had already estimated the road and bridge damage at $35 million. Meteorologists say enough rain has fallen in the past 30 days that it could cover the entire state of Texas with eight inches of water, making May the state’s wettest month on record, according to Texas A&M climatologists. There has been enough rain across #Texas during May to cover the entire state nearly 8 inches deep. That’s over 35 trillion gallons! #txwx — NWS Fort Worth (@NWSFortWorth) May 29, 2015 We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now