A long line of abandoned cars is seen on flooded Interstate Service Route 635 on Monday in Mesquite, Texas.
Elias Valverde II / The Dallas Morning News via AP
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Elias Valverde II / The Dallas Morning News via AP
A long line of abandoned cars is seen on flooded Interstate Service Route 635 on Monday in Mesquite, Texas.
Elias Valverde II / The Dallas Morning News via AP
DALLAS – Heavy rain across the drought-stricken Dallas-Fort Worth area on Monday flooded streets, engulfing vehicles as officials warned motorists to stay off the road and water seepage into some residential houses and business establishments.
“The Dallas-Fort Worth area didn’t have the heaviest rain overnight,” said Daniel Huckaby, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service’s official recording station at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport reported 9.19 inches (23 cm) of rain for the 24 hours ending at 2 p.m. Monday. It was the second place in the top 10 of the 24 hours of most rain in Dallas on record. The peak of 9.57 inches (24.3 cm) fell on September 4-5, 1932.
“We’ve been in arid conditions, so the ground gets a lot of water but when you get that much rain in a short period of time, it inevitably causes flooding, and that’s what we do.” I’ve seen, certainly in the city,’ said Huckaby.
National Weather Service meteorologist Sarah Barnes said rainfall ranges from less than 1 inch (3 cm) to more than 15 inches (38 cm) across the region. By Monday afternoon, the rain had moved out of the area, she said.
“There’s quite a bit of variation in total precipitation,” says Barnes.
Members of the Balch Springs Fire Department took a family of four by boat to higher ground after rescuing them from their home along Forest Glen Lane in Balch Springs, Texas, on Monday.
Elias Valverde II / The Dallas Morning News via AP
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Elias Valverde II / The Dallas Morning News via AP
Members of the Balch Springs Fire Department took a family of four by boat to higher ground after rescuing them from their home along Forest Glen Lane in Balch Springs, Texas, on Monday.
Elias Valverde II / The Dallas Morning News via AP
At least one death was attributed to the downpours as emergency responders across the region reported responding to hundreds of calls with rising waters. Clay Jenkins, presiding officer for the Dallas county commissioners, said a 60-year-old woman was killed when her vehicle was swept away by floodwaters. Jenkins has declared a state of disaster for Dallas County and requested federal and state assistance for affected individuals.
In Balch Springs, a suburb of Dallas, where last month a grass fire Starting in an arid empty field that damaged more than two dozen homes, officials on Monday rescued people from flooded homes. Fire Chief Eric Neal said they rescued four people from one flooded home and one from another.
“We had to come by boat and pull them to safety,” said Neal, who added that others had chosen to stay in their flooded homes.
“When the rain stopped, the water started to recede pretty quickly,” Neal said.
At White Rock Lake in Dallas, where water levels have dropped during the scorching summer months, people carrying umbrellas and waterproof jackets braved the rain Monday morning to watch the cataclysm turn the concrete spillway dry. formerly of the lake into what looked like a roar. River.
Trenton Cody, 29, said he was driving Monday morning to see the effects of floodwaters on the lake’s dam.
“Looks like we’re up in the mountains somewhere with some sort of Class V rapids, which is crazy,” Cody said.
Huckaby says the flooding started overnight on the streets and between the states.
“It fell very, very quickly,” Huckaby said. “We’ve had several locations in Dallas get more than 3 inches (8 centimeters) of rain even in an hour.”
He notes that with so much concrete in urban areas, “there’s just too much drainage can handle.”
A car lies in floodwater covering a closed highway in Dallas on Monday.
LM Otero / AP
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LM Otero / AP
A car lies in floodwater covering a closed highway in Dallas on Monday.
LM Otero / AP
Water has seeped into some businesses. Peter Tarantino, who owns Tarantino’s Cicchetti Bar and Record Lounge in Dallas, says Dallas Morning News About 6 inches of water entered the dining room, but had receded by late morning.
He said he could get the furniture back but he would need to replace the rugs and carpets.
“I hope on Thursday we will be able to open the bar with a few snacks,” he told the newspaper. “I don’t give up so easily.”
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins say on Twitter that based on preliminary damage assessments, he declared a disaster in Dallas County and requested state and federal assistance.
Meanwhile, weather has caused hundreds of flight delays and cancellations in and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and at the Dallas Love Field.
With rain falling on Monday, this August now ranks as the second wettest on record for the region. As of 2 p.m., the National Weather Service reported total rainfall for August of 10.08 inches (25 cm) at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The wettest August was 10.33 inches (26 cm) in 1915.
“It will probably make a small drought dent I imagine but I don’t think it will eliminate it in any way,” Barnes said.
She said that next week, the chance of more rain is very low.
“Unless we continue to experience rain, we will likely see drought conditions worsen again,” Barnes said.
