(KTEN) – As meteorological summer comes to a close, Texomans are waiting for the next drop of rain to fall. Some isolated areas have gone 50 days without measurable rainfall, which has led to the return of moderate to severe drought conditions. 

It seems many summers have passed where Texomans are left to battle drought. Summer of 2007 was a bit different though…

Tropical Storm Erin made landfall near Lamar, TX on August 16th as a tropical storm. Tropical Storm Erin traveled northwest before making an eastern turn for southwestern OK August 18th, 2007. 

When dealing with tropical storms and hurricanes, one of the key ingredients needed to sustain and/or strengthen the storm is warm sea waters. This is why we normally get a weakening trend when these storms make landfall; however, that was not the case with T.S. Erin.

As Erin rolled into Oklahoma, heading east/northeast for OKC, the storm progressively became more defined. Radar loops even show an eye feature developing around Oklahoma City. 

Over 20 inches of rain fell across Oklahoma during the summer of 2007 thanks to T.S. Erin. From June 1st, 2007 to August 31st, 2007, the maximum amount of rainfall for Texoma was 26.32” for Lane, OK in Atoka County. 

 

The upper level air pattern played a huge role in the organization of Tropical Storm Erin. As the storm pushed over Oklahoma, thunderstorm activity increased. This was due to an upper-level shortwave trough, or a minor disturbance in the upper levels of the atmosphere. The increase in thunderstorms led to a release of latent heat, which caused the storm to appear more organized. This latent heat released acted as the warm waters usually do. 

Tropical Storm Erin resulted in 9 fatalities total from Texas and Oklahoma. Most fatalities were caused by inland flooding.