While the search continues for survivors of the Texas flood, a clearer picture has emerged of how it turned catastrophic, and how quickly it escalated in the early hours of July 4.

More than an entire summer’s worth of rain fell in some spots in central Texas in just a few hours early on the Fourth of July, quickly overwhelming dry soils and creating significant flash flooding. Central Texas is currently home to some of the worst drought in the United States and bone-dry soils flood very quickly.