North Texas Prepares For Tropical Storm Bill
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Tropical Storm Bill reached the Texas shore on Tuesday morning, and the heaviest rain will fall to the north of the storm's center.
While gathering strength in the Gulf on Monday, the storm was whipping up waves in Galveston Bay. Waves of up to 12 feet could be seen along the coastline.
It has been nearly four years since a tropical system threatened the Texas coast. It was back in July 2011 when Tropical Depression Don hit South Padre Island and brought very little rain to the state.
Tropical Storm Bill, on the other hand, is expected to bring a lot of precipitation to lands that were already flooded back in May -- including parts of North Texas.
Weeks after the rain went away, flooding remains an issue along the Trinity River in Dallas. Crews on Monday began to get street barriers back out in anticipation of road closures as a result of Tropical Storm Bill's rainfall. DFW will not see the amount of rain that the Texas coast will but, at this point, even a few inches could be dangerous.
Last month, as many as 24 roads in Dallas were closed because of flooding. Only one remains shut down on Tuesday.
It will not take very much to bring the Metroplex back into flood conditions. Roads that closed last month may likely be closed again this week. Some area lakes and parks -- including Joe Pool Lake -- are still closed from flooding in May. It could take until September for water levels to drop back down to normal.
Emergency operations officials in Dallas will activate a monitoring level starting at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday. Flash flooding is expected, potentially, through Thursday. But it is still too early to know how bad the flooding might be. City officials are ready to send out reverse 911 messages in case emergency evacuations are needed.
