Storms gather over saturated ground in La., Texas

Robust thunderstorms could introduce flash flood risks and delay travel as the series of disturbances continues to move east.
A relentless pattern of persistent showers and thunderstorms is not showing signs of easing across parts of waterlogged Texas and Louisiana as the calendar flips to June. And to make matters more concerning, AccuWeather meteorologists say there are early but troubling signs that a tropical system could brew and add to the flooding woes in the coming weeks.
The initial flooding concern will be the result of a storm in the middle levels of the atmosphere that is forecast to form over Texas later this week and crawl eastward through next week, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson.
"That mid-level storm will trigger drenching showers and locally severe thunderstorms and incidents of flash flooding over a several-day period mainly from Friday to Sunday," Anderson said.
The slow-moving storm and its circulation will pump Gulf of Mexico moisture northward over much of Texas and Louisiana as well as neighboring portions of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Mississippi.
The new batch of flooding rain is coming to an area that had more than its fair share in May.
Both Victoria, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana, received more than 20 inches of rain during May, which was nearly four times the normal rainfall for the month for each city, and much of that rain fell in a mere 10 days.
The tremendous rainfall was not just isolated to these two cities. Rainfall totals in the double digits were reported from parts of the lower Rio Grande Valley to central Texas and much of southern Louisiana.
Houston, Port Arthur and Austin, Texas, as well as New Orleans and Lafayette, Louisiana, have all received double-digit rainfall during May.
The May rainfall has left the ground saturated in many locations from central Texas to southern Louisiana. Area streams, rivers and bayous are swollen to the point where flooding from prior rainfall has continued into the start of June.
"Regardless of what weather systems happen to be in the neighborhood, this is a pattern that is ripe for multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms that focus on areas of central and east Texas and Louisiana that have been inundated in recent weeks with frequent heavy rain events and flooding," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Joe Lundberg said.