The Red River in Louisiana is far past flood stage swallowing many homes causing mass amounts of damage. Record rainfall fell through portions of the southern plains last month. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an average of 4.36 inches of rain fell across the Lower 48 which is roughly 1.45 inches above average.

Jake Crouch, climate scientist for NOAA, calculated that amount to be around 200 trillion gallons of water for the month of May. Texas and Oklahoma received the majority of the rainfall leading to local daily and monthly records throughout the two states.

The rain was a great thing for drought conditions in the two states, however so much rain in such a short period of time causes other problems. The 200 trillion gallons of water that fell only has one place to go; downstream. For this area, the only downstream option for all this water happens to be the Red River. Shreveport, LA is feeling the effects from all the rain that fell during May.

The Red River in Shreveport crested at about 37 feet today which is 7 feet above flood stage. Further south in Grand Ecore, which is near Natchitoches, the river is currently at 40.7 feet and could rise to 42.5 feet by late Friday. The National Weather Service in Shreveport has updates for more portions of the river HERE. We will continue to monitor the flooding conditions here at WeatherNation.

Source: WeatherNation Flooding Continues: Louisiana – Photos & Videos From the Ground  |  Brandon Thorne ─ WeatherNation