May isn't over yet, and it's already the wettest month in Texas history

Flooding in Austin, Texas. — (Image credit: Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images)

Throughout May, severe storms have dumped heavy amounts of rain on Texas, resulting in the state having its wettest month on record.

The average rainfall across Texas has measured 7.54 inches in May, shattering the previous record of 6.66 inches set in June 2004, Time reports. Near the Dallas-Fort Worth area, one region has received more than 20 inches of rain. At least 19 people have died this month due to flooding caused by the record amount of rain.

"It has been one continuous storm after another for the past week to 10 days in several regions of the state," state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said in a statement. "It has rained so much that the ground just can't soak any more moisture into it, and many creeks and rivers are above flood stage." Nielsen-Gammon added that the start of El Niño and wet air coming up from the south contributed to the massive amount of rain, and he predicts that the weather will change over the next few days.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.