Tropical Storm Bill Leaves Behind Flooding in Central U.S. (RECAP)

On the evening of June 15, Tropical Storm Bill was named after data from a Hurricane Hunter aircraft investigating the system revealed a center of circulation had developed.

Tropical Storm Bill made landfall the next morning on Matagorda Island, Texas, at 11:45 a.m. CDT June 16. Bill was then downgraded to a tropical depression at 1 a.m. CDT June 17. After spending three days over land as a tropical depression, Bill finally transitioned into a post-tropical cyclone on the afternoon of June 20 over eastern Kentucky.

Although Bill brought coastal flooding and gusty winds to the Texas coast at landfall, its primary impact was rainfall flooding.

The two sections below have a recap of Bill's coastal and inland impacts.

Bill's Coastal Impacts

The peak storm surge from Bill occurred on June 16, coinciding with an early morning high tide along the Upper Texas and southwest Louisiana coasts.

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At least a foot of water covered areas along FM 2031 south of Matagorda. Highway 87 was closed early June 16 from Gilchrist to highway 124 on the east edge of the Bolivar Peninsula due to debris on the road. Galveston County emergency management reported yards were flooded in parts of Hitchcock and Bayou Vista, across the bay from Galveston Island. The water level at Port Lavaca, Texas, was more than three feet above normal during the early afternoon of June 16.

Tropical storm-force winds were reported near the Texas coast on the morning of June 16. Port O'Connor, Texas, clocked sustained winds of 44 mph and a gust to 54 mph.

Stronger winds were reported on oil rigs off the Texas coast early June 16. One elevated rig just east of Port O'Connor measured a 66 mph gust at 9:10 a.m. CDT. 

Another burst of high winds developed several hours after landfall in an area just east and southeast of Bill's center. This included a gust to 58 mph in Palacios, Texas, at 6:20 p.m. CDT.

Bill became the second landfall in the U.S. in the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season. 

According to a preliminary check of mainland U.S. tropical storm and hurricane landfall data from NOAA's Hurricane Research Division, senior meteorologist Stu Ostro found the last time the U.S. had a pair of tropical storm or stronger landfalls this early in the season was 1871. 

Bill's Inland Flooding Impacts

Bill and its remnants brought rainfall to many states from Texas and Oklahoma to the Northeast coast. The remnants of Bill finally exited the Northeast on June 21.

At least one location in eight states saw four inches or more rainfall from Bill, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.

Peak rainfall totals from Bill were: 13.28 inches near El Campo, Texas; 12.53 inches near Healdton, Oklahoma; and 11.77 inches near Ganado, Texas.

Rainfall totals over 8 inches were also reported near Plainville, Indiana (8.8 inches), near Fults, Illinois (8.26 inches) and near Fordland, Missouri (8.25 inches).

The National Weather Service issued flash flood emergencies for Ardmore, Oklahoma, Alice, Texas, and Kirbyville/Buna, Texas, on the evening of June 17. One person was killed by the flooding in Ardmore. Jeremiah Mayer, a 2-year-old boy, was swept from his father's arms as they tried to escape a raging Hickory Creek on June 17.

A rockslide including a large boulder forced the closure of the northbound lanes of I-35, north of Turner Falls, in Murray County, Oklahoma, on June 18. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported that a vehicle struck the boulder that rolled onto the roadway from the Arbuckle Mountains and that at least one person suffered injuries.

Record river flooding was observed in a few locations from Bill's rainfall. The Washita River at Dickson, Oklahoma, crested at a new record level of 48.7 feet early June 19, breaking the record set in 1987 by a margin of more than 3 feet. Record flooding was also reported on West Mustang Creek near Ganado, Texas, and on the Lavaca River near Edna, Texas. The James River near Springfield, Missouri, rose to a new record level of 22.2 feet on June 16; the previous record of 22 feet was set in 1909.

Bill also produced some severe weather as it moved eastward through the Ohio Valley.

The National Weather Service confirmed that on June 19 an EF1 tornado touched down near Symerton, Illinois. In Indiana, an EF0 tornado was confirmed to have struck near Troy on the same day.

On June 20, severe storms fired up on Bill's eastern flank as it was declared post-tropical, resulting in numerous reports of damaging wind gusts in the Mid-Atlantic.

Senior meteorologist Nick Wiltgen and meteorologists Jonathan Erdman and Chris Dolce contributed to this report.

PHOTOS: Tropical Storm Bill