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Sandbags sit outside Top Gun Taxidermy shop Tuesday morning after the previous night’s effort by owner Randy Pistole to keep floodwaters out of his business in Holland.

A continued low pressure system has pushed Temple’s rainfall for seven months this year above the totals for the previous two years, and the continued rainfall from that system has filled the area’s lakes and rivers.

The 1.16 inches of rain that fell Monday night pushed this year’s rainfall amount to 20.57 inches, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. In 2006, Temple received 17.64 inches while in 2005 18.03 inches of rain fell. Meteorologist Tara Dudzik said Temple has an average year rainfall of 35.81 inches.

Local weather observer Dwain Coufal in South Temple has recorded 33.85 inches so far this year.

“We still have a high pressure aloft,” Ms. Dudzik said of Central Texas weather. “We have residual effects of the boundary over the area moving to the east.”

Also, she said, moisture from the Gulf of Mexico is filtering up from the south and meeting afternoon heating, which is creating showers.

High pressure systems create warmer temperatures and drier conditions, while the low pressure systems keep temperatures cooler and result in more rainfall, according to Ms. Dudzik.

As to why the low pressure system is continuing to hang around Central Texas, Ms. Dudzik said she didn’t know.

“We need high pressure systems to force them out of there,” she said.

Dan Thomasson, reservoir manager for Belton Lake and Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, said the lakes, while full, have not reached the spillways yet.

“The rain was intense, but it just didn’t last that long,” he said of Monday’s rainfall. “It really didn’t have that much effect.”

Lake Belton was at an elevation of 629 feet on Tuesday afternoon, which is 35 feet above the normal level of 594 feet. Stillhouse Hollow is 40 feet above normal at an elevation of 662 feet.

Thomasson said Lake Belton has less than 2 feet before it reaches the spillway while Stillhouse has 3 feet. During the last week of March, he said Stillhouse rose 8 to 9 feet. Since then the lake’s level has been like a yo-yo fluctuating up and down.

Rain chances remain in the forecast throughout the week with a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms today increasing to a 50 percent chance through Sunday.

jsicking@temple-telegram.com