While rainy weather unexpectedly spared Mother’s Day in San Antonio, more area showers are likely this week, according to the National Weather Service.
Most of San Antonio has received two or three inches of rain since this past Friday, not including showers that fell in the area before noon on Monday.
Showers drifted north into San Antonio after leaving up to three inches of rain in an hour in some spots of northern Atascosa County.
For the first time in a couple of years, there was an actual year-to-date rainfall surplus at the San Antonio International Airport — nearly a quarter inch. Nearly 11 inches of rain, slightly above average for this time of year, has fallen at the airport since Jan. 1.
The weather service reported at least half the city should see showers before chances mostly taper off late Tuesday night.
Forecasters urged area residents to keep an eye out for flash flooding, especially at lower water crossings. They said since the ground is heavily soaked, it won’t take much rain to trigger sudden floods.
Even after Tuesday night, the weather service reported an isolated shower or two could pop up each day for the remainder of the week because of afternoon heating.
A cold front was expected to arrive in the area on Friday, potentially causing some showers this weekend.
Despite rains this past weekend, Bexar County continued to experience extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
San Antonio residents also remain under Stage 2 water restrictions that allow them to use automatic sprinklers just once a week based on street address.
The rains, however, have been beneficial for the Edwards Aquifer, a key source of water for the region.
"Water levels in the Aquifer have risen from about 638.8 feet on May 8 to about 645.6 feet as of Monday morning. So, about 7 feet of increase due to the recent rains," said Paul Bertetti, a senior director at the Edwards Aquifer Authority and in charge of aquifer science research and modeling, in a statement on Monday.
"That’s about what we might expect from 2-3 inches of rain on the recharge zone, and we would expect some additional increase in water levels if the rains continue or as long as the streams across the recharge zone flow due to runoff," he added.
