More Texas, Oklahoma flooding feared as storm moves north
DALLAS -- A churning tropical storm has caused little damage so far in Texas, but authorities warned Wednesday that as Tropical Depression Bill moves northeast, already swollen rivers could overflow their banks and cause more problems for water-weary residents.
Sustained maximum winds from the former tropical storm dropped to 35 mph by Wednesday morning, but isolated areas near the Texas coast southwest of Houston saw more than 11 inches of rainfall. Many roads across a broad stretch of eastern Texas were closed due to high water, and hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm was moving north at about 13 mph as it shifted into the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. Flash flood watches and warnings were in effect.
"Even though the state is facing challenges, it looks like we have been able to avoid the worst," Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday.
He and other state officials said the challenge over the next 48 hours will be the abundant rainfall, particularly in North Texas.
About 3 to 5 inches of rain fell on areas of Central Texas still cleaning up and recovering from Memorial Day weekend floods that left 14 dead and two missing along the Blanco River alone in Blanco and Hays counties.
Emergency management officials warily monitored Texas rivers that were forecast to rise through the weekend.
Kent Prochazka, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service near Houston, said the threat of the storm had diminished somewhat, describing Bill as "well-behaved," but warned that rising rivers remained a concern.
"We probably are not going to see any magnitude where it's going to be critical, life-threatening or 'Take your babies and run,'" Prochazka said.
Rocky Vaz with the Dallas Office of Emergency Management is monitoring the fast-moving storm. So far the state has avoided a disaster, but problems could still spill over for 40 million people under flood watches.
"Our biggest concern right now is what is going to happen in a day and half, two days when Lake Lewisville and Grapevine either goes over the spillway or they start releasing water in a controlled manner," he told CBS News correspondent Omar Villafranca.
The focus has "shifted toward the rivers" and how they're able to absorb runoff in the coming days, he said.
The Brazos River southwest of Houston was about 32 feet high Wednesday but was predicted to exceed its flood stage and swell to 50 feet by Sunday. A portion of the Red River, which divides Texas from Oklahoma, ran more than 25 feet high Wednesday, but was forecast to grow to about 37 feet, well above its flood stage.
"We have not seen the last of the rainfall yet, not by a long shot," cautioned Texas state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon, explaining that a band of the tropical depression continues to trail behind the storm system and deliver lingering rain.
The flooding and damage caused by Tropical Storm Allison in Houston and other parts of Texas in 2001 largely came after that storm had passed through the region, he said.
But the extreme rain is helping to end a lengthy dry period in Texas.
In October of 2011, 97 percent of the state was in an extreme drought. Conditions slowly improved, but last month's record-setting rainfall -- an estimated 35 trillion gallons -- is helping to finish off the drought. More than 90 percent of the state is entirely drought free.
Cattle rancher Missy Bonds, who had to sell of hundreds of heads of cattle to save money, is now happy to see the rain.
"This rain here is a lifesaver for many ranchers," she told CBS News. "It could be the start to see the expansion of cattle herds again."
Meanwhile, worried that areas battered by flooding last month would see waters rise again, eastern Oklahoma residents filled thousands of sandbags on Wednesday before the remnants of Bill were to arrive.
"We're flying really uncharted ground here," Okmulgee County emergency management director Tim Craighton said. "We've never had to deal with back to back massive flooding situations."
The towns of Beggs and Henryetta in the county bore the brunt of heavy rains and flooding last month, which was the wettest in Oklahoma history. Heavy rainfall and floods led to many rescues, at least 6 deaths and widespread damage.
Already, state transportation officials closed highways and roads on Wednesday in at least a dozen counties due to flooding. The same roads had also been closed when the storms dumped rain on parts of the state last month.
In Okmulgee, sandbags were rationed to 50 per resident due to the great demand. Craighton said that's just enough to line up against a garage door and a maybe side door, but little else. He worried that his supply of 3,500 bags would be gone quickly as the rain increased and residents began panicking.
"People are just calling and asking for bags," he said Wednesday.
NOAA Storm Prediction Center meteorologist Brynn Kerr said the storm's remnants were expected to arrive Wednesday afternoon in portions of central and eastern Oklahoma. The National Weather Service in Tulsa estimates severe flooding later Wednesday and Thursday, with 3 to 7 inches of rain expected in eastern Oklahoma.
Memorial Day weekend storms had brought widespread flooding to Oklahoma and Texas, killing more than 30 people overall. At one point in May, 11 inches of rain fell in some parts of the Houston area, resulting in flooding that damaged thousands of homes and other structures and forced motorists to abandon at least 2,500 vehicles across the city.
Rafael Lemaitre, spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said FEMA has paid nearly $38 million this year in Texas flood insurance claims, with the vast majority associated with last month's deluge.
In North Texas, Dallas authorities monitored road conditions and Arlington residents were picking up sandbags being offered for free by city officials.
Farther north, a flash flood watch was in effect for most of eastern Oklahoma and part of northwest Arkansas. The National Weather Service predicts the storm could drop 3 to 7 inches of rain across Oklahoma before it leaves the state Thursday. The flood watches will likely remain until Friday morning.
Tornadoes were a concern Wednesday in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Separate storm systems brought heavy rain elsewhere in the country. Authorities in Missouri said a 60-year-old motorist died when floodwaters swept his car from the road, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers declared an emergency in its Kansas City District because of high river levels. Judd Kneuvean, emergency management director for the district, told The St. Joseph News-Press that the corps delivered 43,000 sandbags for use in the Blue River Basin.
Flood warnings were in effect around Illinois, and homes and businesses were evacuated in low-lying areas near the Illinois River.
FEMA personnel who were sent to Texas and Oklahoma after the May storms will stay to help with cleanup after this latest system passes, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday.