All-time record May rains ended a decade-long drought in the southern Great Plains

More than 11 inches of rain fell in just a six-hour period early Tuesday, May 26, in the Houston area of Texas. The nation's fourth-largest city saw its highways turned into raging rivers that stranded hundreds of motorists.

The floodwaters took three lives in Houston. As of this writing, at least 13 people were still missing, including a group that disappeared after a vacation home was swept down the river and violently slammed into a bridge in Wimberley, a popular tourist town.

At least 2,500 vehicles were abandoned by drivers fleeing to higher ground. Dozens of firefighters bravely carried out more than 500 water rescues, saving many lives.

A spokeswoman for the flood district of Harris County, which includes Houston, said late Tuesday, May 26, that at least 700 homes sustained some level of damage from the record floodwaters.

The Blanco River, which runs between Austin and San Antonio to the north of Houston, crested on Tuesday at a record 40 feet, more than triple its flood stage of 13 feet. The river swamped busy Interstate 35. Parts of the North-South Highway were closed for several hours. Rescuers used pontoon boats and a helicopter to pull people out of danger. Hundreds of trees were uprooted along the Blanco River. Piles of debris were more than 20 feet high in places.

This May was the wettest month on record for many cities in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Oklahoma City, as of this Wednesday, May 27 writing, had received a record 28.34 inches of precipitation thus far in 2015, compared with a puny 4.29 inches to date in 2014.

Wichita Falls had reached nearly 16 inches of rain this May, far above the long-standing record for the month of 11 inches. Oddly enough, previous to the record rains, the city was forced to get Texas Regulatory approval in order to recycle and treat its wastewater as drinking water supplies dried up.

The primary meteorological factor relating to the recent record rains in the formerly drought-plagued southern Great Plains is the rebirth of 'EL NINO.' This warm and wet sea-surface temperature event has produced a potent southern branch of the upper-level jet streams. It pushes across Mexico from the Pacific before bringing copious amounts of moisture northward from the juicy Gulf of Mexico into the now water-logged southern Great Plains.

It's the opinion of this climatologist that the decade-long plus major drought is finally over in much of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Most rivers, lakes, streams and reservoirs are full and overflowing their banks. Critical subsurface moisture is plentiful down to levels of more than four feet.

With the new El Nino, residents in California are hoping for much heavier rainfall in the next rainy season, which usually begins in October or November. Despite the fact that many stations in the Golden State did receive about 70 to 80 percent of normal precipitation for the 2014-15 season, waters levels remain very low from the historic drought conditions over the past 4 years.

Locally in North Idaho, we will see the end of our recent winter 'SNOW DROUGHT' by the end of this decade. If El Nino holds on or strengthens through the rest of this year, then the 2015-16 snowfall season may be a repeat of the one this year with much below normal amounts of the white stuff. Stay tuned.

NORTH IDAHO WEATHER REVIEW AND LONG-RANGE OUTLOOKS

While El Nino produces record rains across Texas, Oklahoma and the rest of the southern Great Plains, by extreme contrast, we residents of the Inland Northwest are often left warm and dry by the potent sea-surface temperature event in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. This has certainly been the case during the past couple of months in North Idaho. We've been very dry and almost hot at times.

We enjoyed a summer preview this past week when afternoon highs soared to 86 degrees on May 23 in Coeur d'Alene, Rathdrum and Fernan Lake. Post Falls was close behind with a July-like 85 degrees.

As of this Wednesday, May 27 writing, we had only gauged .83 inches of precipitation on Player Drive in town compared with the 120-year normal for May since 1895 of 2.37 inches. Most of this month's rainfall has come in the form of brief thunderstorm activity.

Longer-term, through much of the month of June into early July, I see scattered thunderstorms in the region and generally warmer than normal temperatures, again thanks to El Nino.

The summer of 2015 still looks drier than usual under a strong, stationary ridge of high pressure. Temperatures between July 4 and Sept. 13 should average at least a couple of degrees above normal. The hottest period should arrive either in late July or early in the month of August. Triple-digit readings will be possible in some parts of North Idaho and the so-called Inland Empire.

I still see great weather for this year's edition of the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo in late August. It should be warm and mostly dry, but not excessively hot. Hope to see you there in the Press booth.

Cliff Harris is a climatologist who writes a weekly column for The Press. His opinions are his own. Email sfharris@roadrunner.com