We continue to see heavy rain associated with Bill across parts of Oklahoma this morning. How much rain has fallen and where is this system heading next?
Heavy Rain Totals From Bill
Bill left areas of the south soaked over the past 48 hours, with some areas of Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma picking up over 6″ of rain according to radar.
Here are just some select rainfall totals from across Texas and Oklahoma over the past 24-48 hours.
Over the past 24 hours in Texas, some of the hardest hit areas were northwest of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, where radar estimated over 4″ of rain in spots – with reports of over 9″ near Nocona and 12.50″ in Montague.
On the other side of the border in Oklahoma, it’s been from the Oklahoma City area and south that have seen the most rain in the past 48 hours – with some areas picking up over a half a foot in south central Oklahoma. This heavy rain has caused a part of I-35 in Murray County, OK, to be shut down due to a rock slide off the Arbuckle Mountains overnight.
I-35 CORRIDOR- NB I-35 closed near Turner Falls until further notice due to rock slide. @KXIITV @KTENnews @TxDOT pic.twitter.com/oytv7rNMbl
— Oklahoma Department of Transportation (@OKDOT) June 18, 2015
Record River Crests?
The heavy rain in a short amount of time, combined with already wet ground from the record rains seen during the month of May, has quickly caused rivers to go back into flood stage across the south – and some were already at major flood stage as of this morning.
(INTERACTIVE: AerisWeather River Center)
The Brazos River at Richmond, TX, is expected to peak near record flood stage on Friday, then stay at about that level throughout the weekend.
The Red River near Gainesville, TX, is expected to rise above major flood stage later today, and peak at 37.5 ft on Friday before falling back below minor flood stage by the beginning of next week. If the Red River does make it to 37.5 ft, it would be the second highest crest on record.
It’s not only Texas seeing the flooding – the Wildhorse Creek near Hoover, OK, was near record flood stage this morning.
Timing the Remnants of Bill
By tonight, the rain will have shifted east of Oklahoma City, but rain will still be affecting areas such as Fort Smith, AR and Springfield, MO.
The storm system won’t move too much overnight, still raining for the Friday morning commute across parts of Arkansas, southern Missouri and eastern Oklahoma.
The rain continues to move east by Saturday morning, affecting parts of the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys as we head into the first part of the weekend.
And it’ll be from eastern Oklahoma into parts of the Ohio Valley that the heaviest rain will fall over the next three days – with some areas potentially picking up four or more inches by Sunday morning.
(CHECK OUT YOUR FORECAST: wx.aerisweather.com)
Remember you can always find me on Twitter (@dkayserwx) or on Facebook (Meteorologist D.J. Kayser).
– Meteorologist D.J. Kayser
