The following quote always leaves me with a queasy feeling…
Michael Lowry, hurricane specialist with The Weather Channel, points out that three of the five wettest tropical cyclones on record for the U.S. mainland occurred in Texas, and none of them attained hurricane strength. These include Allison as well as Tropical Storm Claudette, which led to a national 24-hour rainfall record on July 25-26, 1979, near Alvin, Texas—an astounding 42 inches (possibly underreported by as much as three inches due to an overflowing gauge, according to NOAA).
Can you imagine what 42 inches of rain would look like in a almost flat landscape? Follow the link…
Thirty-five years ago, Alvin residents were locked in a battle with epic rain but didn’t realize they were setting a record.On July 25, 1979, Tropical Storm Claudette arrived in Alvin and settled in, dropping 43 inches over the next 24 hours. That amount still stands as the greatest one-day rainfall in the United States, according to the National Weather Service. Judge Mike Merkel, former Alvin police chief and now a Brazoria County justice of the peace, said that when the rain started falling that July 25, there was no prediction it would end up being monumental.
Source: After 35 years, Alvin still holds U.S. record for most rain in one day – Houston Chronicle
