Texas and Floods: A Love Story (That Mostly Involves Property Damage)
Ah, Texas. Land of wide-open spaces, big steaks, and even bigger floods. If you're thinking about moving to the Lone Star State, there are a few things you should know. You'll likely become intimately familiar with two things: cowboy boots and flood insurance.
When the skies open up, Texas takes a bath (and not always in a good way)
Texas is like a party animal when it comes to rain. It doesn't drizzle, it downpours. May 2015 holds the record for a real soaker: 35 TRILLION gallons of rain drenched the state, enough to cover Texas in eight inches of despair (or joy, depending on how you look at it). That's more water than you'd need to fill a swimming pool the size of... well, Texas.
This love of heavy precipitation has led to, well, let's just say a lot of "water events." Now, tracking down the exact number is like trying to wrangle a herd of angry longhorns – there's just too many!
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Flash Floods: The Sneaky Sidekicks of Fury
Central Texas is the undisputed champion of flash floods. These surprise attackers come out of nowhere, turning dry creeks into raging rivers faster than you can say "yeehaw!" One study counted a whopping 4,722 flash floods in just a 14-year period. That's more flash floods than there are stars in Matthew McConaughey's smile. -
The Big Guys: When Rivers Decide to Play Leapfrog Texas has also seen its fair share of epic floods. The October 1998 deluge and Hurricane Harvey in 2017 were whoppers, causing billions in damage and leaving some folks wondering if they needed a boat instead of a car.
So, how many floods has Texas had? That's a Texas-sized question
The honest answer? We'd probably need a supercomputer and a team of meteorologists with ten-gallon hats to give you a definitive number. But here's the takeaway: Texas and floods go together like barbecue and sweet tea.
The good news? Texans are a resilient bunch. They rebuild, they poke fun at themselves (because what else can you do?), and they keep on livin' large. Just remember, if you're ever in the Lone Star State and the rain starts coming down sideways, find higher ground, grab your boots, and maybe invest in a good life raft (just kidding... mostly).
