The heavy downpours persisted early Monday and into the afternoon. And they led to widespread flooding across the area.
DALLAS — North Texas on Monday got a round of rain we’ve rarely seen: Nearly 10 inches in just a 24-hour span, with both Dallas and Fort Worth getting over nine inches of rain.
The heavy downpours persisted early Monday and into the afternoon. And they led to widespread flooding on North Texas highways, creeks and rivers.
But some areas of North Texas got much higher rainfall totals than others, and that was evident in the latest lake levels reported Tuesday morning. While some of the rainfall could still trickle into our area lakes, the data on Tuesday gave a good snapshot of the initial impact of Monday’s rain.
The bottom line: North Texas lakes are still below their normal levels, some by several feet, or more, but Monday’s rain was certainly a welcome relief.
And the change in lake levels were largely dependent on location; many North Texas lakes are located in the northern area of our region, which saw less rainfall than areas near Dallas and Fort Worth.
In fact, the DFW flooding ultimately meant Houston’s gain.
The highest rain totals were reported in Dallas and Tarrant counties, which are located in the Trinity River Basin. Our drought conditions leading up to the historic event meant soil was too hard to absorb much of the rain. This rain then turned into runoff, making the Trinity River swell to moderate flood stage on Tuesday.
This swell was temporary, as the water will continue to flow down the Trinity River and into Lake Livingston, which is a big supplier of water for Houston.
Here’s a rundown of the lake levels that are tracked daily by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in order of biggest 24-hour change:
Joe Pool Lake (Dallas/Tarrant/Ellis counties): 2.84 feet increase; 1.32 feet below normal.
Cedar Creek Lake (Henderson County): 1.04 feet increase; 3.85 feet below normal.
Grapevine Lake (Tarrant County): 1.03 feet increase; 0.31 feet below normal.
Lake Worth (Tarrant County): 1.01 feet increase; 0.82 feet below normal.
Benbrook Lake (Tarrant County): 0.81 feet increase; 8.85 feet below normal.
Bardwell Lake (Ellis County): 0.80 feet increase; 2.04 feet below normal.
Eagle Mountain Lake (Tarrant County): 0.75 feet increase; 3.83 feet below normal.
Lake Ray Hubbard (Dallas County): 0.36 feet increase; 1.70 feet below normal.
Lake Bridgeport (Wise County): 0.35 feet increase; 6.89 feet below normal.
Lewisville Lake (Denton County): 0.10 feet increase; 3.10 feet below normal.