Why is Texas prone to flooding in the spring? Here’s how to find out if your home is in danger
The wettest season of the year has arrived in Texas. Spring showers typically begin in April and May.
Texas is frequently battered by storm after storm in the spring, leaving a soggy landscape with nowhere to let all the rain out. Flooding occurs as a result.
Texas’ version of the water cycle frequently causes flooding because of the state’s diverse terrain and location along the Gulf of Mexico. Rainfall serves as the driver of most of the events.
A Blue Ribbon Study found that Texas had 4,722 flash floods during the 14-year period from 1986 to 2000. It also found that three million of the eight million buildings constructed on floodplains lacked flood insurance.
Texas received 35 trillion gallons of rain in May 2015. The rainfall is a trifecta for Central Texas because sometimes it falls too quickly for the soil to hold it, so it flows into the closest stream.
Types of flooding most common in Texas
Given that Texas is located in “flash flood alley,” it is not shocking that more than 500 flash floods have been reported in the previous ten years. The most vulnerable time of year for flooding in Texas depends on the type of flood.
- River floods are more likely in the spring and early summer
- Flash floods are more common in the fall and spring
- Coastal floods are most frequent during hurricane season, from June to November.
Letters A or V designate locations at high risk of flooding on FEMA flood maps. High flooding is most likely to occur in these places. If you have a federally backed mortgage and own a property in a high-risk area, you must have flood insurance as a requirement of the loan. Here’s where to get a map of your area:
