Imelda Continues To Flood Parts Of Southeast Texas, Tornadoes Spotted
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Tropical Depression Imelda continues to bring heavy rain and floods to parts of Southeast Texas as it slowly moves through the area. Tornadoes were also spotted in Harris County on Wednesday with damage reported in and near Baytown.
Rain from Imelda was still deluging parts of Texas and Louisiana on Thursday. Forecasters warned of life-threatening flash floods as an additional five to 10 inches falls through Friday, and predicted even "25 to 35 inches" in some places as the system moves.
Glenn LaMont, deputy emergency management coordinator in Brazoria County, south of Houston along the Gulf Coast, said he had seen no reports of flooded homes or people stranded despite heavy rainfall as of late Wednesday, but cautioned: "It's too early to breathe a sigh of relief."
Most of the heaviest showers had moved to the east of Houston, into Beaumont, Texas, and southwestern Louisiana, by Wednesday evening.
In Beaumont, local news station 12NewsNow said employees had to evacuate their building due to flooding and were forced to put their weather coverage on hold.
Update: We are having to end our wall-to-wall coverage on Imelda and evacuate our building due to flooding. @12NewsNow pic.twitter.com/rQWoGTqGJU
— Ben Parsons (@BenParsons7) September 19, 2019
Forecasters said the Houston area could still face some heavy rainfall on Thursday, even as the system's center shifted to about 110 miles north of the city, moving north-northwest at 5 mph.
The storm's remnants also spawned several weak tornadoes in the Baytown area, about 25 miles east of Houston, damaging trees, barns and sheds and causing minor damage to some homes and vehicles.
Brandon Clement captured video of a tornado in Highland, near Baytown, where it reportedly hit several vehicles and trees.
Parts of East Texas could get up to 10 inches of rain through Thursday morning as the remnants of Imelda continue moving north and away from Houston, according to the National Weather Service.
In North Texas, rain chances increase on Friday with scattered showers and heavy downpours expected, especially east of I-35. Temperatures will also be slightly cooler as North Texans see a relief from the heat.
Coastal counties, including Brazoria, Matagorda and Galveston, got the most rainfall so far. Some parts of the Houston area had received nearly 8 inches of rain, while the city of Galveston, which had street flooding, had received nearly 9 inches, according to preliminary rainfall totals released Wednesday afternoon by the National Weather Service.
Sargent, a town of about 2,700 residents in Matagorda County, had received nearly 20 inches of rain since Tuesday.
Karen Romero, who lives with her husband in Sargent, said this was the most rain she has had in her neighborhood in her nine years living there.
"The rain (Tuesday) night was just massive sheets of rain and lightning storms," said Romero, 57.
She said her home, located along a creek, was not in danger of flooding as it sits on stilts, like many others nearby.
In the Houston area, the rainfall flooded some roadways, stranding drivers, and caused several creeks and bayous to rise to high levels.
Many schools in the Houston and Galveston area canceled classes Wednesday. However, the Houston school district, the state's largest, remained open. At least one school district — Galveston — said it was also canceling classes on Thursday.
The National Hurricane Center said Imelda, weakened after a tropical depression after making landfall Tuesday near Freeport, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.
The weather service said Imelda is the first named storm to impact the Houston area since Hurricane Harvey dumped nearly 50 inches of rain on parts of the flood-prone city in August 2017, flooding more than 150,000 homes in the Houston area and causing an estimated $125 billion in damage in Texas.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)