Tropical Rainstorm Lorena Heading Into Texas with Flooding Rainfall

Texas will once again be in the bullseye for a flash flooding threat by the end of the weekend as what is left of Lorena moves through the region. Here is a look at the expected timing of this major rain event.

Texas Braces for Rainfall from Tropical Rainstorm Lorena

What was once Hurricane Lorena is now a tropical rainstorm. The former hurricane that originated in the Eastern Pacific will take aim at the Desert Southwest and Texas this weekend. The moisture associated with Lorena will pair with a stalled front over Texas to usher in heavy rainfall. Texas Hill Country is expected to take the brunt of the precipitation this weekend and into the early part of next week.

The same winds that led to Lorena's demise will also work to send the moisture to the north, away from Mexico and into Texas in the days ahead. Lorena's old center will continue to break apart off the coastline of Mexico's Baja Peninsula.

Just as Lorena's remnants are moving into Texas, a front dipping to the south will serve to pump in more moisture from the atmosphere. Lastly, the Gulf moisture machine is also expected to fire up this weekend, amplifying the rainfall amounts across the Lone Star State.

Forecasters are warning that the highest risk of flooding will be focused on the western and southern parts of the state. The forecast is calling for rainfall rates of up to 2 to 3 inches per hour in the hardest-hit areas. Rainfall of this magnitude will certainly raise the risk of flash flooding across parts of the state that are still recovering from the deadly flooding on the Fourth of July.

The weekend forecast is signaling that one or two large thunderstorm complexes could fire up and move to the southeast along the frontal boundary by the back half of the weekend. A large complex of storms was the same weather element that sent the water flowing out of the Guadalup River in July.

While the setup is not shaping up to be as extreme as what happened in July, the line of storms could also expand across the Rio Grande Valley. Residents in this part of the state will want to pay close attention to rainfall amounts.