North Texas hit by 1-in-1,000-year flooding
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Water, water, everywhere. Photos courtesy of Dallasites101
After months of severe drought conditions, North Texas has been slammed with flash flooding.
Why it matters: Emergency water rescues were required in both Fort Worth and Dallas. Planes were grounded at both DFW and Love Field. Some neighborhoods in Tarrant County were told to evacuate.
- In some areas, the rainfall totals are considered a 1-in-1,000-year flood, per the Washington Post.
- More than 450 people across the area called for emergency rescues, according to CNN.
What happened: As rain poured for most of Sunday and continued into Monday, some rainfall gauges in the area recorded nearly 15 inches of water — an entire summer's worth — in less than 24 hours.
- Rain levels recorded at DFW Airport are now the second highest ever in a 24-hour period, per NBC5.
- What had been a dry, arid August is suddenly the second wettest August on record.
- Images from across the area show flooded parking lots, blocked roads and submerged homes.
Threat level: Lakes and rivers that were far below normal levels less than a week ago are now expected to enter flood stages, per the Dallas Morning News.
- A communications outage caused by a Verizon line problem prevented the National Weather Service from issuing warnings from the Fort Worth office, but the office says it's working closely with partner offices to stay on top of the flooding.
Context: Earlier this summer, North Texas experienced dozens of days with 100-degree heat and 67 straight days with no rain — the second-longest streak in the area's history, per the NWS.
Of note: Fox Weather reporter Robert Ray, who was reporting on the flooding in Dallas, found himself rescuing a woman who'd driven into a flooded intersection.
Zoom out: Nearly 15 million people from North Texas, northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas were covered by flood watches, per CNN.
What's next: Rain continued to fall Monday afternoon, but the forecast is dryer for the rest of the week.
The bottom line: As the National Weather Service has once again reminded drivers, if you encounter flooding, turn around.
- Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.