Thunder and heavy rains hit San Antonio earlier today causing some low water crossing and street flooding but the impact of the wet weather was not nearly as severe as other parts of the state.
NINE COUNTIES DECLARED DISASTER AREAS
Torrential downpours that began over the weekend led Gov. Greg Abbott to issue a disaster declaration today for nine Texas counties that surround the Houston-area.
Over the past weekend, Abbott activated the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Emergency Management, OEM, as a precaution to the wide-sweeping thunderstorms seen throughout the state.
Now the focus is on Houston. In the past 24-hours Houston and the surrounding area has seen upwards of 12 inches of rain and that has led to massive flooding throughout the Bayou City and adjacent counties.
“As of now I am declaring a state of disaster declaration for nine counties, they include, Austin, Bastrop, Colorado, Fort Bend, Harris, Grimes, Montgomery, Waller and Wharton,” Abbott says.
The Governor only expects that list of affected counties to grow as the state’s OEM receives updates throughout the night and into the morning.
“In addition to the fact that there will be continued rain for at least the next 24 to 48 hours, there will continue to be rising water for at least that long if not longer. And so there will be challenges that will require response by rescues,” Abbott says.
Abbott says the state has helicopters and swift water boats standing by ready to rescue anyone trapped in their home by flooding. The governor says there have been more than a thousand water rescues since the storm passed through Texas.
SAN ANTONIO: WET BUT STILL READY FOR FIESTA
The rainy weather is not expected to put an end to the Texas Cavaliers River Parade, which is slated to begin at 7 tonight, even though more storms are expected later this evening.
Overnight rain forced Fiesta to cancel today's planned Pilgrimage to the Alamo and Air Force Day at the Alamo. Fiesta officials have not said if those events will be rescheduled.
A flash flood watch is still in effect for the San Antonio area until 10 a.m. Tuesday. Larry Hopper with the National Weather Service says most of the heavy rain has been to our east.
“The impacts in the Hill Country have been pretty minor,” he says. “Most areas have gotten well under 3-, 4-inches of rain. We did have some parts of northwestern Bexar County and southeastern Kendall that got 4- or 5-inches. For the most part, the heavy rain has stayed east of the I-35 corridor.”
More heavy rain is expected to fall tonight. Off and on showers are forecast through Thursday night.
“Well as we continue to have the upper level disturbance out west and we could have some impulses that will continue to cause some local heavy rainfall and some flash flooding, with scattered showers and thunderstorms even tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday,” he says. “We do expect finally that the rain chances will end as we get into Friday morning.”
So if you're heading out to any Fiesta events this week, keep a rain coat or umbrella handy. The sun is expected to shine on the Battle of Flowers Parade.
