Tropical Storm Imelda inundated parts of Southeast Texas with massive amounts of rain. Unfortunately, the heaviest rain fell in areas that needed rainfall the least.
Imelda dropped over 40 inches of rain near Beaumont in Jefferson County. In fact, it dropped a swath of over 20 inches from the Splendora area in southeast Montgomery County all the way past Beaumont. Other areas of southeast Texas, From Harris County eastward, received over 10 to 20 inches of rain.
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Unfortunately, most of these areas were not in a drought predicament.
In fact, the areas in Jefferson County that got 40 or more inches were not even considered "Abnormally Dry" before Imelda. Only a small area from Kingwood to Liberty was in severe drought before the flooding rains hit.
In short, the flooding rain fell east of Houston, while the driest areas of the state lie west of Houston.
Currently, 52 percent of Texas is experiencing some form of drought. And 21 percent of the state is in severe or extreme drought. Imelda will not move the needle on those numbers.