Tropical Storm Edouard Dumps More Than 20 Inches of Rain in Southeast Texas

The Texas Tribune

HOUSTON, TX — Roads were flooding in Southeast Texas, and power lines were down as intense rain fell from the remnants of Tropical Storm Edouard on Wednesday morning.

Life-threatening flash flooding was hitting areas of Southast Texas north of Beaumont early Wednesday morning, as more than 20 inches of rain had fallen in some places, federal forecasters said.

Forecasters had urged people to get to higher ground as heavy rain bands swept over the communities of Kountze, Honey Island and Village Mills in Hardin County. The National Weather Service office in Lake Charles, Louisiana warned that potential damage could be catastrophic.

Andy Tingler, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said rainfall totals in places reached 15 to 22 inches as rain kept falling Wednesday, prompting concerns about street flooding and creeks overflowing.

Heavy rain could continue throughout the day across a broad area stretching from Houston to the northeast. The National Weather Service forecasted a high risk of excessive rainfall — the highest level of risk. Roughly a third of deaths from floods and fourth-fifths of flood-related damage in the U.S. happen on high-risk days, according to the National Weather Service Office.

“Widespread damaging and potentially catastrophic flooding is possible with a HIGH risk of flooding in effect,” the NWS wrote on X. 

The center of Edouard was located just north of Lake Livingston before 7 a.m. Wednesday and still producing gusty winds, said Cameron Self, a meteorologist with the NWS Houston/Galveston office. The office expected sustained winds of 15 to 25 mph were possible with gusts up to 40 mph. 

In a midday update Wednesday, they said an additional two to six inches of rain was possible north of Harris County, with some amounts of 10 to 12 inches, as heavy rain fell near the storm’s core and in its outer bands. 

More than 70,000 homes and businesses were without power as of 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.com as crews worked to make repairs.

Radar indicated the storm made landfall just east of the Texas-Louisiana border near Johnson Bayou, Louisiana, at 2:20 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. 

The storm’s maximum sustained winds were estimated around 60 mph with stronger gusts as it reached land. A wind gust of 71 mph and sustained wind of 57 mph were recorded near Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters predicted the storm would weaken rapidly as it moved inland.