Memories of May and June in East Texas feature hot and usually dry weather. However, this year saw record-breaking rain in our area beginning with a severe storm in late April, and finally slowing down in late June.
While it seems out of nature for a Texan to request for rain to hold off a bit, especially after drought in recent years, I am definitely hoping for a break. Flooding is at the very least inconvenient for most people, but for almost 100 members, it has caused them to be without electricity for several weeks.
“I’ve been here for 26 years and don’t remember a flood this long,” Lake Livingston Project Manager Mark Waters said.
Trinity River Authority (TRA) considers a significant release anytime it is over 50,000 cubic feet per second. The release passed this mark on May 18.
“I looked back and I found five similar floods,” Waters said. “One was in May of 1990, which lasted 27 days. We’ve already passed this.”
The highest release was 72,600 cubic feet per second in this event. There have been floods with larger releases, such as 110,600 cubic feet per second, which was the second largest release ever.
Waters was able to share a few notable points about our wet weather:
1. Normal release at Lake Livingston Dam is about 12,000 cubic feet per second.
2. East Texas went through a 10-15 year span of dryer trends in the 2000s. Many lakes are just now recovering.
3. Northern Trinity River gages in areas like Crockett and Dallas had dropped, but then Tropical Storm Bill hit. This caused rivers to rise yet again.
