In the early hours of Friday, July 4, floods swept across the Texas Hill Country. The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet within 45 minutes, according to state officials.
Kerrville, Hunt and other surrounding towns experienced widespread, deadly flooding.
On Thursday, July 3, the National Weather Service (NWS) had issued a flood watch for the Hill Country, forecasting up to seven inches of rain overnight. However, totals reached up to 12 inches in some areas –almost double the predicted amounts and exceeding the initial forecasts — which swelled the Guadalupe River by 20 feet in less than two hours.
Jason Runyan, a meteorologist with the NWS, said a combination of factors led to the unexpected rain.
"The first being some high amounts of moisture for this time of year — some near records of moisture — vertically into the atmosphere," Runyan said. "The second were the remnants of a mid-level disturbance from what used to be tropical storm Barry. So a combination of that disturbance and these record levels of moisture have led to the very heavy rainfall, especially over Kerr County."
All that rainfall on Friday drained into the Guadalupe River Basin. He said it started up by the headwaters near Hunt, in western Kerr County, and “traveled downstream through Kerrville where it crested” and then traveled toward Comfort.
“We saw some pretty sharp and steep rises on the river,” he said, “in some cases rivaling the 1987 flood, the famous 1987 flood." That year, 11 inches of rain flooded the region, and ten teenagers died when their church bus ran into flood waters.
While Texans are used to flash flood watches and warnings during the summer months, this particular pattern that caused such devastation has more behind it.
That part of the state is known as “Flash Flood Alley.”
Frustration and anger began to grow among members of the public as their grief deepened about what occurred. Some are asking if they received adequate warning of the flash flood on Friday.
Gov. Abbott and other officials have held press conferences to answer questions from the media. Abbott signed a state disaster declaration that included many counties including Kerr.
In a statement on Sunday, the Trump administration approved a disaster declaration for Texas "to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds and flooding from July 2, 2025, and continuing" for "affected individuals in Kerr County. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals recover from the effects of the disaster."
There have been questions regarding comments from the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem and about how a situation like this one could have occurred.
Officials said that more than 1,000 local, state and federal personnel were on the ground helping with the rescue operation that began on Saturday, July 5.
By Sunday, the number of dead in the Guadalupe River flooding alone was 68 —including 40 adults and 28 children. Pending identification were 18 adults and 10 children. From Camp Mystic, there remain 10 girls and one counselor unaccounted for.
Frantic search efforts continued–even under the thread of more heavy rain in the area of Hunt. Officials have said that more than 850 people have been rescued, including over 100 airlifted from the region.
This is a community conversation. We want to hear from you.
What stories can you share about the catastrophic floods in Central Texas?
What questions do you have about this weather event and the aftermath—the help extended to victims and their families and the communities that are trying to understand what has occurred?
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This episode will be recorded on Monday, July 7, 2025.
