Harris County received large amounts of rain in a short time span. Some areas saw more than 15 inches that left 6,700 homes flooded and 123,000 homes without power, causing an estimated $56 million in damages. This number passes the previous record that was set during the Memorial Day floods in Houston. At least seven people were found dead due to high water. The IRS has offered tax extensions for those affected by the flooding. Cy Fair and Klein school districts canceled classes for a short period of time and estimate $4 million of damage was done at both campuses. Grayson County, San Antonio, and north Texas saw severe weather damage aside from flooding. The Texas Insurance Council believes the San Antonio hail storm during mid-April will be the costliest on record. Over $1 billion in automobile, house, and business damages are expected with 110,000 cars and thousands of homes damaged. Record rainfall records were broken across the state. 1.41 inches of rain fell in a 24 hour period in San Angelo, which broke the record for daily rainfall of 1.13 inches and nearly breaks the month’s average rainfall of 1.42 inches. The Hill Country saw it’s wettest April in over a decade.
Farmers and ranchers had a difficult April. The rains over the past year have helped increase the size of cattle herds along with increased cattle prices above average. However, market prices for crops is not doing well. Farmers are trying to reduce their losses instead of making profits. Corn and sorghum are doing well in terms of crop yields across the state. Thousands of acres of crops were flooded when heavy rain arrived, but some farmers welcomed the rain due to abnormally dry conditions. Wild pigs have been destroying crops and are estimated to cause $52 million in crop damages. The fishing season has been doing well with the on and off rains. Fishermen have been able to find a large number of fish due to an increase in water levels.
