Rare high risk of extreme rainfall to trigger 'life-threatening' flooding in Texas and Louisiana

A dangerous, life-threatening flash flooding event is unfolding Thursday as torrential storms pound the already-soaked U.S. South.

A dangerous, life-threatening flash flooding event is unfolding Thursday as torrential storms pound the already-soaked U.S. South.

A rare Level 4 of 4 high risk of excessive rainfall was issued for parts of eastern Texas and western Louisiana by the Weather Prediction Center Thursday. More than 600,000 people live in the high-risk zone.

High risk days only happen on four per centof days each year, but account for more than 80 per cent of all flood damage and more than a third of all flood deaths in the United States, according to the WPC. Just three other days have reached this concerning mark this year, including the most recent one nearly three weeks ago.

It’s a sign the atmosphere is primed to unload extreme amounts of rain, a phenomenon that is becoming more frequent in a warming world driven by human-caused climate change.

Widespread rainfall totals of two to six inches are expected from Texas to Georgia through Saturday morning. A few spots caught under multiple torrential storms may pick up eight inches or more of rain. It’s not out of the question that one or two spots could record close to a foot of rain in about 48 hours.

Texas and Louisiana have been in the bull’s-eye of seemingly unrelenting rounds of torrential, flooding downpours since the start of April. Rainfall in the waterlogged area over the last two weeks is over 600 per cent of what’s typical, according to the WPC.

Double-digit rainfall totals between 20 and 30 inches over the region in recent weeks have soaked the ground and left rivers swollen, priming the flood threat to extreme levels.