A dose of much-needed rainfall is expected to hit Corpus Christi on Thursday.
The National Weather Service reports an expected downpour in Corpus Christi, where rainfall in the most severe areas could hit in “excess of 2-3 inches.” The rain will bring an increased chance of coastal flooding and a slight risk of flash flooding across Southeast Texas.
“Soils remain saturated and if daily chances for similar rainfall amounts hold true, then more efficient runoff processes will lead to flashier responses from local streams and creeks,” the National Weather Service office in Corpus Christi wrote in its forecast discussion.
Because of that risk, the Weather Prediction Center has placed much of South Texas under a Marginal Risk for flash flooding through the weekend.
The predicted rainfall is welcome news for those in Corpus Christi and the surrounding area. An extended drought of more than five years has left city reservoirs at dangerously low levels, and the city is expected to fall short of its water supply needs by next summer, per the Texas Tribune. Water restrictions and higher fees for exceeding usage limits have been in place since 2024. According to the Texas Tribune, Corpus Christi homeowners have cut water use by roughly 25 percent in recent months, and additional restrictions could be imposed before 2027. Under current rules, residents are allotted a 7,000-gallon monthly baseline, with further cuts triggered once usage exceeds a 25 percent reduction target. Households that surpass 5,250 gallons may face violations.
Limiting water use will help slow the impending water crisis in Corpus Christi. But rainfall is the only real solution to the region’s drought. Recent weeks have provided some degree of good news. Rainfall to end may bring the capacity of Lake Corpus Christi to 20 percent at the end of May, per 3NEWS in Corpus Christi, and the incoming rain could push the total to 30 percent filled. Data collected at the Nueces River Basin reports the reservoirs in the area are now at 12.9 percent full as of Thursday, an increase from just 7.7 percent as of May 4.
The rainfall expected on Thursday may not be a one-day event. The National Weather Service said elevated rain chances are expected to continue through at least Saturday before tapering off later in the weekend, potentially providing additional inflows to drought-stricken reservoirs across the Coastal Bend.
Recent incoming rain has pushed the projected date of a Level 1 water emergency from September to December. 3NEWS reports that a number of public-use water projects will begin to be funded in July, when the city will issue $500 million in bonds to begin combating the worsening water crisis.