Flood Watch Covers 24 Counties Around Lubbock Through Friday Evening, With 1 to 3 Inches of Rain Possible
The National Weather Service in Lubbock says the heaviest rain is most likely late Thursday into early Friday, as moisture from Tropical Depression Vance meets a disturbance over the South Plains — and the state already has rescue boats on standby.
A Flood Watch is in effect for Lubbock and much of the South Plains from 4 p.m. Thursday until 8 p.m. Friday, issued by the National Weather Service in Lubbock and reported in detail by Hub City UnCovered from the weather service's own products. The watch covers 24 counties — Lubbock, Hale, Hockley, Crosby, Lynn, Garza, Terry, Yoakum, Cochran, Bailey, Lamb, Floyd, Motley, Dickens, Kent, King, Stonewall, Cottle and Childress in the South Plains and Rolling Plains, plus Briscoe, Castro, Hall, Parmer and Swisher in the Panhandle. A watch means flooding is possible, not that it is happening; as of Thursday morning the watch had not been upgraded and no flood warnings were in effect for Lubbock County.
Forecasters say the moisture comes partly from Tropical Depression Vance in the eastern Pacific, meeting a disturbance moving over the region. The weather service's overnight discussion called for widespread rainfall of 1.5 to 2 inches, with locally higher amounts possible, and its Flood Watch graphic put 1 to 3 inches across the watch area. Thursday night carried a 100 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in Lubbock with 1 to 2 inches of new rain possible and a low around 57; Friday keeps a 100 percent chance of rain, a high near 63, and another 1 to 2 inches possible before rain rates ease later in the day.
The state moved before the rain arrived. On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate state emergency response resources ahead of the threat, and the state listed the South Plains among the areas of greatest concern for excessive rainfall. The resources on standby include swiftwater rescue boat squads from Texas A&M Task Force 1, game warden boat teams and hoist helicopters from Texas Parks and Wildlife, Department of Public Safety troopers and helicopters, and ambulance and medic teams from the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force, with TxDOT crews watching roads.
Lubbock's streets are built to carry rainwater to the city's playa lakes and normally clear within about 30 minutes after rain stops, the city's engineering division has explained — but heavy, steady rain can push that system hard, and water in an intersection or underpass can be deeper than it looks. "There will be a short period of time that water will pool in the streets until it is dispersed through the system," the city's communications director, Lacey Rose, said in an email Thursday, pointing residents to the MyLBK app's standing-water reporting option; Public Works said no barricades were planned but crews stand ready. The weather service's advice is its standing one: turn around, don't drown — never drive or walk through floodwater or around a barricade. Friday is also the last day of early voting; Lubbock County lists Friday hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and voters heading out in the rain should give themselves extra time.
