LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Surging water along the Guadalupe River and other waterways has returned to the Texas Hill Country, just over a year after the deadly Camp Mystic flood.
Meteorologist Cary Allen, who covered last year’s disaster firsthand, said some residents who lost everything in 2025 have now lost everything again.
‘Starting from ground zero’
Allen said the back-to-back flooding has left longtime Hill Country residents stunned.
“I think the locals who live down here and see that have seen the floods this year for the second time in a row are just kind of stunned,” Allen said. “It’s something we see every couple of decades versus not back-to-back years. And people had just finished rebuilding. There had been…basically people back in their homes for the first time since last year’s flood. And then this comes and wipes it out again. And now they’re going to have to start from ground zero again.”
Improved preparation this time
Allen said Texas and local Hill Country residents were better prepared for this year’s flooding, citing improved communication, the use of the West Texas Mesonet, and new cell towers along the Guadalupe River. He also noted that local counties established command centers before the flooding unfolded.
“Another thing that happened this year that didn’t happen maybe in years past was all of the local counties in the Hill Country set up command centers before this unfolded so that they were fully staffed night and day for several days,” Allen said.
Allen said warnings were taken more seriously this year.
“This year, the message was a lot stronger — stay away from the rivers ahead of time,” Allen said. “I didn’t see as much tragedy. What I saw was a lot of people coming together and working their tails off to make sure that we didn’t see a repeat of what happened last year.”
Nocturnal storms made flooding more dangerous
Allen said the intense rainfall was caused by an upper-level low pressure system, which prevented storms from moving out without a cold front to push them along. He said that type of system is especially dangerous at night.
“During the day, when you go to bed, everything seems to be nice,” Allen said. “But then it’d be 1, 2, 3 in the morning — these things start firing up. That is what makes them so dangerous because they are nocturnal, they are nighttime storms.”
Importance of weather watches
Allen said the flooding serves as a reminder to pay attention to weather alerts, even when watches are issued frequently.
“The planning stage is always during the watch, whether it be a flood watch, severe thunderstorm watch, or a tornado watch,” Allen said. “That’s when you should be thinking, hey, this is my plan if something was to happen. The fact that it’s capable of doing that is urgent enough. They wouldn’t be in place if there wasn’t a reason for it.”
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