First at 4 o'clock on Friday local time, the federal weather agency issued an acute message about "life-threatening flooding", reports American media. By then, the rain had already intensified and the water had begun to rise sharply.
On Thursday, there were indications of an impending flood risk in the area. But the intensity of the precipitation was far from certain and the warnings issued then did not contain extreme amounts of rain, reports The Washington Post.
Early on Friday morning, the warnings were updated at a rapid pace. Shortly after 4 o'clock in the morning local time, the weather service issued the most urgent alarm, which warns of acute and deadly scenarios, reports The New York Times.
At 5:34, a warning came for a "particularly dangerous situation" for Kerr County in southern Texas.
"Automatic rain gauges indicate that a large and deadly flood wave is moving down the Guadalupe River”, it said in the message addressed to communities along the Guadalupe River.
"Residents and campers should SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW! Life-threatening floods along the river are expected".
Nim Kidd, head of the crisis management department in Texas, tells The New York Times that the warning issued on Thursday "did not predict the amount of rain we saw".
