Hurricane Harvey Is The Biggest Flood Threat Of Any U.S. Storm In Modern Times

Hurricane Harvey is expected to hit the middle Texas coast late Friday night as the most intense such storm to strike the U.S. since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. But its winds, which could rank as a Category 3 or 4 storm on the Saffir Simpson Scale, are not the biggest threat Texans face.

Instead, this storm is going to destroy lives and property with water — both from storm surge flooding and staggering, record-shattering inland flooding.
The rainfall amounts currently forecast are almost too high to comprehend — upwards of 35 inches may fall from the Corpus Christi, Texas area northeastward to the Houston and Galveston region, and potentially extending into western Louisiana as well. Areas inland toward Austin and San Antonio may also be heavily impacted.