Weekend rains that brought upwards to 7 inches of precipitation in the Port Arthur area have moved out of the Golden Triangle at least for a few days, but by this weekend another good chance of rain returns just in time to spook outdoor Halloween activities.

The National Weather Service’s Lake Charles office weekend forecast mirrors the prediction for this winter: wetter than normal as a result of a strong El Nino pattern.

“The Climate Prediction Center s forecasting our area will likely have a winter that is cooler than average and wetter than average and the reason they are making this forecast is due to El Nino in the Pacific,” Tim Humphrey, NWS Lake Charles meteorologist, said.

According to Humphrey, Port Arthur received between 5-7 inches of rainfall this weekend and into Monday when the precipitation began to clear out.

At Jack Brooks Regional Airport 6.19 inches was recorded for the same period while Beaumont saw between 6.42 and 7 inches over the weekend.

Rainfall in Orange over the three-day period from Saturday through early Monday measured 6.91 inches.

Further north, in Bon Weir 9.65 inches was recorded for the same time period, the highest in the area, Humphrey said.

This winter is predicted to be much like last winter, though the El Nino pattern is stronger going into this winter.

In fact, the current El Nino pattern is one of the strongest in recorded history, Humphrey said.

“El Nino pattern shifts the tracks that take storms across the country, and tends to bring more storms along a track through our area,” Humphrey said.

An El Nino pattern typically lasts about a year or so.

Humphrey predicted the El Nino pattern could decrease as early as this spring.

In the meantime, Southeast Texas is bracing for more rain this weekend. The amount is not expected to rise to what was received last weekend when a front moving through the area and excessive moisture resulting from Hurricane Patricia combined to bring substantial rainfall across Texas.

Most of the Golden Triangle area was not significantly impacted by the weekend rainfall other than having to stay indoors.

Port Arthur City Manager Brian McDougal said the city experienced some problems with the pumps on Gulfway Drive, but rented pumps to solve the problem. Pumps on Memorial Boulevard worked just fine, McDougal said.

In Nederland, City Manager Chris Duque said the city did not have any real flooding issues, mainly because the rain was spread out through the day, allowing the city to manage the water.

“The weather forecast for this part of the state fortunately was incorrect. We had some high water in some streets, but nothing that was a problem,” Duque said.

The same is true for the unincorporated parts of Jefferson County, Greg Fountain, Jefferson County emergency coordinator, said.

“It could easily have turned into another (Tropical Storm) Allison like event, or one like Hurricane Sandy,” Fountain said

Going into the weekend, and the predicted wet winter Fountain said it was important for people to monitor the National Weather Service’s Lake Charles website or the NWS’ Facebook page.

According to the NWS, partly cloudy skies will return Tuesday and Wednesday with sunny skies Thursday during the day.

By Friday, a 20 percent chance of rain is back in the forecast. Chance of rainfall increases to 60 percent Saturday, and 50 percent Sunday.

E-mail: sherry.koonce@panews.com

Twitter: skooncePANews