EDIS Number: FF-20120125-33916-USA
Date / time: 25/01/2012 15:21:05 [UTC]
Event: Flash Flood
Area: North-America
Country: USA
State/County: State of Texas
Location: San Antonio
Number of Deads: N/A
Number of Injured: N/A
Number of Infected: N/A
Number of Missing: N/A
Number of Affected: N/A
Number of Evacuated: N/A
Damage level: Moderate

Description:

Torrential rains, lightning and heavy winds pounded San Antonio early Wednesday morning, flooding streets, sparking fires and cutting off power to thousands of residents. Flooding caused road closures in low-lying areas throughout the city, with lanes along the lower level of Interstate 35 shut down from San Pedro to St. Mary's streets. Sgt. Chris Benavides with the San Antonio police spokesman urged motorists to use extreme caution during their morning commute and avoid flooded crossings. Since midnight, portions of the city received up to 5.36 inches of rainfall, the NWS reported. The San Antonio River at Loop 410 jumped from flowing at 10 cubic feet per second to more than 10,000. That flow has since dropped to 4,500 CFS and is expected to continue to drop throughout the day. As of 8:20 a.m., CPS Energy reported electricity outages for more than 26,000 customers in the city, the majority on the city's Northeast Side. A tornado watch remains in effect for the South Central Texas through 11 a.m., and although NWS had not confirmed there were any twisters in the area overnight, McDonald said there were possible sightings in Medina, Edwards and Lee counties.

San Antonio Fire Department spokeswoman Melissa Sparks said nine homes along the 8900 block of Deer Park were severely damaged by the storm, though it was not clear Wednesday morning whether the damage was caused by a tornado. “Nothing has been confirmed yet,” McDonald said. “We have to look at wind speeds, pictures of the damage, radar imagery and satellite pictures.” San Antonio Fire Department spokeswoman Melissa Sparks said lightning ignited at least three fires on the North Side, including one that destroyed seven units at an apartment complex at the 1700 block of Jackson Keller Road about 1:40 a.m. About 20 minutes later, a smaller fire erupted at a home on the 4100 block of Camphor Way, and a third ripped through another home on the 16200 block of Deer Crest about 2:45 a.m.No injuries were reported in the fires. Sparks said heavy rain did not help extinguish the flames, which caused $350,000 in damages at the apartment complex and $200,000 at the third home. “You have to consider how heavy rain is compared with the pressure out of the hoses,” Sparks said. “It’s just not enough.” The fire department received 12 calls from residents reporting high water, though emergency responders only performed two rescues. None were injured in the incidents, which both involved motorists trapped in flooded areas.

While the rain was welcome by gardeners and farmers it will do little to alleviate the current long term drought. Medina Lake rose by a little more than an inch and the Edwards Aquifer saw a jump of little more than six inches. Canyon Lake saw a rise of just under six inches. As streams and rivers drop back to their drought levels these water bodies will continue to see some increase but not enough to change current drought restrictions or restore local rivers and springs to normal flows.