Flash Flood — Brewster, Texas

2022-09-03 · near Panther Junction, Brewster, Texas

Event narrative

Heavy rain resulted in flash flooding in the Big Bend National Park. A section of the Lost Mine Trail collapsed which resulted in heavy damage to that section of trail. The bottom of the trail was covered in rocks and the top of the trail was too narrow to safely cross. The trail was closed as a result. Also, high water and debris crossed the pavement along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. The pavement was broken off and washed away. Logs and rocks were washed onto the road which made it unsafe to travel. The damage and debris resulted in the road being closed. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.

Wider weather episode

An upper level trough extended from the Mississippi River Valley southwest to Texas. Numerous boundaries were across West Texas from previous thunderstorms. High moisture and instability were also across the area. These conditions contributed to rain developing and moving over already saturated soils. This resulted in flash flooding across the Big Bend area of Texas.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (29.3167, -103.3568)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1049261. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.