Weather News
Torrents of rain broke records for wettest September ever in Dallas-Fort Worth
The pool of water outside your door is no illusion: Texas is breaking records on rain — and Dallas-Fort Worth had its wettest September ever.
September 2018 was the wettest September on record in Texas dating to 1895, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
North central, southern, and eastern Texas saw anywhere from 150 to 400 percent more rain than normal. Southern Texas endured 800 percent or more precipitation than normal.
September 2018 was the third wettest month in state history, coming in behind May 2015 and August 2017, when Hurricane Harvey struck.
The state-wide precipitation total for Texas was 6.77 inches.
It was part of a national trend: September 2018 was the third-wettest September on record for the continental United States (Alaska was drier than usual). It was also the fourth warmest month on record.
Laredo and San Antonio joined Dallas-Fort Worth in having their wettest September ever. Other Texas cities that experienced record-breaking wet months include Beaumont, Del Rio, and Lufkin. But CultureMap doesn't have offices in those cities, so that news is, obviously, slightly less interesting.
Dallas-Fort Worth continues to get pummeled. The first 13 days of October were the third-wettest period on record in DFW, according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center.
Flood watches have been issued by the National Weather Service from south-central Texas into north-central and northeastern Texas, including Dallas-Fort Worth, along with Abilene and Del Rio.
Northwest of Austin, the Llano River in Llano rose to its second highest height ever on the morning of October 16, according to the National Weather Service. Residents living within a quarter mile of the river were encouraged to evacuate their homes.
