Harvey dumps more than 9 trillion gallons of water on Texas

“This event is unprecedented and all impacts are unknown and beyond anything experienced.”

the National Weather Service said in a tweet sent out following the catastrophic flooding many woke up to on Sunday.

Tropical Storm Harvey has far surpassed anything the US has ever experienced, as many areas have already seen a year’s worth of rain in just a few short days.

Since Tropical Storm Harvey made landfall Friday night, more than 9 trillion gallons of water has already been dumped on parts of Texas. To put that in perspective:

– California put a dent in their historic drought following a snowy January. Nearly 6 trillion gallons of snow fell in the Sierra Nevadas.

– The Mississippi River holds on average about 5 million gallons of water, which means the water would have to flow for days into Texas before reaching the amount of rain.

– Enough rain has fallen in Texas to fill the 33-foot-deep Great Salt Lake in Utah a few times.

This is a storm that will not only be catastrophic, but will leave parts of Texas uninhabitable for months.

The image below shows just how much rain has fallen across south and central Texas since Tropical Storm Harvey began. Most of that fell within a 24-hour period, with an additional 20 inches of rain or more expected in the coming days.

Of great concern is that Tropical Storm Harvey is jogging back towards the open ocean and will likely restrengthen briefly before taking aim on Houston and surrounding areas once more by the middle of the week.

The track of Harvey takes the remnants into Arkansas before dissipating. Whether we see the remnants of Harvey here in Mid-Missouri is still too early to tell, but it will be nothing like what Texas is experiencing.

Stay with ABC17 Stormtrack Weather as we continue to follow Tropical Storm Harvey and the historic flooding ongoing in Texas. You can also follow us on Twitter @ABC17Stormtrack.