Flood — Caldwell, Texas

2017-08-26 to 2017-08-28 · near Niederwald, Caldwell, Texas

Event narrative

Heavy rain from Tropical Storm Harvey caused major flooding around the county. At one time, 140 roads were closed the most ever recorded. The emergency manager estimated that 75% of the county's roads were damaged by flooding. The cost of the damage to roads and dams was estimated at $10 million. There were 18 homes destroyed and another 198 damaged by flood water with a total cost of $2.85 million.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Harvey moved onshore as a Category 4 hurricane over San Jose Island east of Rockport during the late evening of August 25th. Harvey moved inland entering southern DeWitt County during the morning of August 26th as a Category 1 hurricane. It continued to weaken as it moved farther inland eventually reaching south central Gonzales County as a tropical storm during the late evening of August 26th. The center of the storm made a loop through Gonzales, Karnes, and DeWitt Counties before exiting our County Warning Area during the afternoon of August 27th moving into Victoria County. The maximum sustained winds were 46 mph recorded at Austin Bergstrom International Airport and at two private weather stations, one near Yorktown and the other near Smiley. The maximum recorded wind gusts were 58 mph at New Braunfels Airport, Randolph AFB, and at a private weather station near Smiley. The highest rainfall total was 29.19 inches outside of LaGrange in Fayette County. A number of places in Fayette, Lavaca, and Bastrop Counties received 20 or more inches of rain. Tropical storm force winds with estimated gusts up to 60 mph caused damage across the region. Trees and branches were knocked down by the winds. Some of these in turn knocked down power lines causing power outages in Bastrop, Comal, Hays, and Guadalupe Counties. At one point, 15,000 customers in Comal County were without power. There was also some minor structural damage in Caldwell, Comal, and Lavaca Counties. Maximum rainfall totals in these counties ranged from 4.67 inches in Bexar to 29.19 in Fayette. Flooding and flash flooding forced 608 people to be evacuated from their homes. Most of these, 400, were in Fayette County.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (29.9623, -97.7069)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 720625. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.