Spectacular Rain Event
On the evening of Friday, May 14, 2010, a line of heavy thunderstorms swept over the Houston-Galveston area.
The National Weather Service station covering Galveston County is based in League City. That station officially recorded 3.5 inches of rain for Galveston.
The RexRoss.com weather station at Pirate's Beach, on Galveston's west end recorded substantially more severe weather.
The Pirates's Beach station recored total rainfall that evening of 6.36 inches - a huge amount.
Even more interesting, however, was the recorded rainfall rate. The chart below shows rainfall rates reaching about 17 inches per hour - an almost unbelievable downpour.
When rainfall rates about 1-2 inches per hour represent a strong downpour, you can barely imagine the rainfall at the 5 to 17 inches per hour rates experienced during the storm.
One would almost suspect an error in the weather station sensors. However, as I was there and personally witnessed the event, there appeared to be no hardware or software problems with the station. In fact, I took our dog, Rosie, for a walk when the rainfall rate was about 8 inches per hour. I can assure you - it was a short walk!
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