--- title: What Made the Texas Floods So Devastating? description: Sloping terrain, the remnants of a tropical storm, and climate change can make for a dangerous combination. canonical: https://time.com/7300660/what-caused-deadly-texas-floods/ author: Simmone Shah article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-07-07T20:38:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-07-09T19:15:23.000Z article:section: Climate og:title: What Made the Texas Floods So Devastating? og:description: Sloping terrain, the remnants of a tropical storm, and climate change can make for a dangerous combination. og:url: https://time.com/7300660/what-caused-deadly-texas-floods/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9658033a24f5794a/6998c81007a30d0dba77d25a/texas-flooding.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Deaths Reported After Flooding In Texas Hill Country og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Made the Texas Floods So Devastating? twitter:description: Sloping terrain, the remnants of a tropical storm, and climate change can make for a dangerous combination. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9658033a24f5794a/6998c81007a30d0dba77d25a/texas-flooding.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Made the Texas Floods So Devastating? > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Many Question If Weather Service Was Operating at Its Best Ahead of Texas Floods Amid Trump’s Cuts [Watch (HLS stream): Many Question If Weather Service Was Operating at Its Best Ahead of Texas Floods Amid Trump’s Cuts](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CyjQpqLe.m3u8) (2:51)  _Published 2025-07-07. Texan communities are dealing with the impact of the deadly flash floods along the Guadalupe River, which have killed at least 80 people so far. Search and rescue efforts continue for those unaccounted for, including girls from the Camp Mystic summer camp, which Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said was "horrendously ravaged” by the flood waters._  by [Simmone Shah](https://time.com/author/simmone-shah/)  ## Simmone Shah Reporter Updated: Jul 9, 2025 7:15 PM UTCPublished: Jul 7, 2025 8:38 PM UTC  Boerne search and rescue team members prepare their Zodiac boat for operations on the flooded Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025 in Comfort, Texas. Heavy rainfall caused flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas with multiple fatalities reported. Boerne search and rescue team members prepare their Zodiac boat for operations on the flooded Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025 in Comfort, Texas. Heavy rainfall caused flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas with multiple fatalities reported. Eric Vryn—Getty Images  by [Simmone Shah](https://time.com/author/simmone-shah/)  ## Simmone Shah Reporter Updated: Jul 9, 2025 7:15 PM UTCPublished: Jul 7, 2025 8:38 PM UTC At least 105 people have died and more than a dozen are missing after devastating flash floods hit central Texas over the 4th of July weekend. Search and rescue operations are still underway as more rain is expected to hit the battered region in the coming days. A number of conditions came together to cause the deadly floods, experts say. “\[The storm was\] fueled by warm and moist air combined with the leftovers of Tropical Storm Baryl on very interesting geography,” says Slobodan Simonovic, professor emeritus at the department of civil and environmental engineering at Western University. ## **What caused the flash floods?** The floods were triggered in part by the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, which made landfall in Mexico at the end of last month. “When you have a tropical cyclone, the system dies, but that system still puts lots of water vapor in the atmosphere,” says Aiguo Dai, professor of atmospheric and environmental sciences at the University of Albany, SUNY. “The moisture stays in the air and travels with the winds, and in this case, it looks like some of the water vapor from that remnant moved into \[central\] Texas.” **Read more:** [_Experts Question If Weather Service Was Operating at Its Best Ahead of Texas Floods Amid Trump's Cuts_](https://time.com/7300310/texas-floods-national-weather-service-warnings-debate-staffing-cuts/) It’s not uncommon for this to happen. Barry is the 20th tropical cyclone or remnant to cause over 15 inches of rain across interior Texas since 1913, according to the [National Weather Service](https://twitter.com/NWSWPC?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1941662298080211365%7Ctwgr%5E71f68c317846678845af6d621b3d9b73393ea87c%7Ctwcon%5Es1%5F&ref%5Furl=https%3A%2F%2Fweather.com%2Fnews%2Fweather%2Fnews%2F2025-07-06-how-guadalupe-texas-flooding-happened-forecast). Last fall, the remnants of Hurricane Helene led to devastating floods across the Appalachian region. In 2021, flash floods from the remnants of Hurricane Ida killed dozens of people in four states. Texas Hill Country, where much of the flooding took place this time, is often referred to as “flash flood alley.” It's home to steep terrain and a lack of vegetation that creates a perfect storm for waters to rise quickly. “In a mountainous, \[sloping\] terrain, the water can run very fast from the upper drainage area into a river basin and create a very fast rising river in a few hours,” says Dai. “Downstream, people may not notice there's an intense storm upstream.” ## **How is climate change impacting flash floods?** Climate change will only make events like this more common. “The transformation of increased temperature into heavier and more \[frequent\] precipitation, it's very simple proof that with continuous warming we will be facing more and more events like this,” says Simonovic. **Read more:**[_What We Know About the_ ](https://time.com/7300529/texas-flooding-victims/)[_Victims of the Texas Flooding_](https://time.com/7300529/texas-flooding-victims/) Tropical storms and hurricanes are only going to become more intense with climate change, as rising ocean temperatures intensifies evaporation, making the air wetter and leading to stronger and more destructive storms. Simonovic says that it’s imperative that we begin to acknowledge that the realities of climate change are already here—and better plan to adapt to it. “Things are changing, but also things changed. Losing \[more than\] 80 lives in Texas in the middle of 2025, it's really hard to accept. 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