The heavy rains brought by the now-defunct Tropical Storm Edouard have temporarily altered the drought conditions, which has worsened across eastern Texas over the past several weeks.

What was once Tropical Storm Edouard continues to spin over eastern Texas. Edouard brought exceptionally high rainfall totals on Tuesday and Wednesday, especially in eastern Texas, south of I-20 and north of I-10. Some areas recorded between 6 and 12 inches of rain over those two days, while other areas were expected to receive up to 12 additional inches by Thursday morning.

Although the system is no longer tropical, it has been moving very slowly over land. Flood warnings remain in effect for areas north of Houston, extending into the Metroplex—especially its eastern portion. WeatherRadar indicates that some thunderstorms could still develop along Interstate 45 on Thursday, and with the ground already quite saturated, flooding is very likely.

The latest drought report for East Texas indicates that the drought has worsened considerably in that region. Unfortunately, the report released on Thursday included data only through Tuesday morning. So we’ll have to wait until next Thursday to see what relief the rains brought by Edouard will bring.