The previous record for the lower 48 states was established in 1978 by cyclone Amelia, in Medina, Texas, according to the NWS Houston Twitter account. A NWS advisory released earlier on Tuesday said the record was for Texas.
The record for a cyclone in what is now the entire United States was set in 1950, when Hurricane Hiki dropped 52 inches of rain on Hawaii, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. Hawaii was a U.S. territory then and became a state in 1959.
A total of 14 observed locales had received more than 40 inches of rain as of 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) during Harvey, NWS said.
The reports are preliminary, it noted.