Heat Building Across Central Texas as Recovery Operations Continue

The soggy weather is finally exiting Texas, providing relief for crews on the scene looking for victims after the deadly flooding event on the Fourth of July. Unfortunately, the rain and storms will be replaced by intense heat in the days ahead. Here is a look at the steamy forecast for the Lone Star State.

Rain Wrapping Up by Tuesday Across Texas

The state of Texas has been caught in the crosshairs of a series of tropical downpours over the last few weeks, leading to the catastrophic flooding of the Guadalupe River. More evacuations were issued in central Texas on Sunday as more rain fell in sheets across the water-logged region. The heavy rain and flash flooding threats persisted through Monday night in Texas with several more inches of precipitation triggering more flood watches.

One last round of moisture is in the forecast for Tuesday across Texas Hill Country. This line of rain will focus on the northern and western parts of this region during the afternoon hours.

A change is on the way for the southern Plains as an area of high pressure that has been tethered to the Gulf will move to the west in the days ahead. The movement of this area of high pressure will cut off the stream of tropical moisture into Texas, supporting the development of a drier weather pattern into the central portions of the state.

The drier weather expected to take over the weather headlines in central Texas by Wednesday will likely persist through the end of the week. It will be a different situation in West Texas and New Mexico, an area that should prepare for more thunderstorms popping up in the afternoon and evening hours.

For instance, El Paso, Texas, will be under the threat of scattered storms in the latter part of the day Friday. Despite the arrival of more clouds, the mercury will still make it up into the upper 90s before falling into the mid 70s overnight.

The repeated downpours are also likely to impact the community of Ruidoso, New Mexico. This town in the southern part of the state was hammered with heavy rain last week, killing three people at the hands of a flash flooding event.

Ruidoso is forecast to see the storms fire up on Thursday and continue throughout the day Friday. While the threat of storms will ease a bit on Saturday, the community cannot rule out isolated activity.

Heat Building Across Central Texas

The tradeoff for the drier weather will be warmer temperatures and intense sunshine. The mercury is forecast to climb into the upper 90s on Wednesday for the first time in July in major cities such as Austin and San Antonio. When combined with the strong sunshine and the high humidity levels, real feel readings will approach the century mark across the flood zone. Eastern Texas is expecting to see the worst of the heat with real feel readings that could potentially reach 110 degrees.

The long-range forecast is calling for the return of wet conditions to central Texas by the end of July. This extended stretch of dry weather should help crews as the rebuilding effort begins.

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