TS Sara Rainfall Totals Meeting, Exceeding Hurricane Harvey’s

11/17/2024 – According to a National Hurricane Center report at 6 AM this morning, slow-moving Tropical Storm Sara has produced around 40 inches of rain in northern Honduras. To put that amount in perspective, it meets or exceeds most Hurricane Harvey totals reported in Harris County during a similar 4-day period.

Harvey 4-Day Totals

Rainfall can vary widely over areas. Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) final report on Hurricane Harvey shows total Harvey rainfall amounts ranged from 26 to 47 inches across the county during a 4-day period. The lowest totals occurred over the northwest and northeast part of the county with the highest totals focused across the southeast part.

• Clear Creek at I-45 saw the maximum 47.4 inches.
• San Jacinto at US59 saw 32.7 inches.
• Spring Creek at I-45 saw 29.4 inches.
• Cypress Creek at Cypresswood Drive saw 34.9 inches
• Luce Bayou at FM2100 saw 31.8 inches.

Most places in Harris County reported 4-day totals in the 30-40 inch range. Some were slightly lower, some slightly higher. Clear Creek was the statistical outlier.

Harvey in Historical Perspective

Hurricane Harvey struck the Gulf Coast in August 2017. It was one of the most significant and devastating tropical storms in U.S. history, primarily due to the sheer volume of rainfall it produced.

Harvey’s rainfall ranked among the heaviest ever recorded in the continental United States from a tropical system. The highest peak occurred in Nederland, about 85 miles east of Lake Houston. It still holds the official U.S. record for a single-location rainfall from a tropical storm – 60.58 inches.

Harvey’s rainfall was not only extreme in terms of totals but also in how long the rain persisted. The storm’s slow-moving nature allowed the moisture to be dumped over the same areas for four days, contributing to catastrophic flooding, especially in Houston.

Update on TS Sara

Four days also matches the amount of time Sara has dumped rain over northern Honduras.

Sara’s heavy rains are now spreading westward across portions of Belize, Guatemala, and the Yucatan Peninsula.

Sara should hold steady in strength with tropical-storm-force winds of around 40 MPH until it moves inland later today. NHC warns that it will likely cause “significant and life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides” across Belize, El Salvador, eastern Guatemala, western Nicaragua, and the Mexican State of Quintana Roo.

Sara is no threat to Houston, but could cause heavy rainfall in Florida later this week after it crosses into the Gulf as a tropical depression.

In mountainous regions, such as northern Honduras, the volume of rain is not the only danger. So is the speed of the runoff as we saw earlier this year when Helene hit North Carolina.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/17/24

2637 Days since Hurricane Harvey