harrisonsdream
08-17-2007, 10:16 AM
More downpours expected for Houston area today
Floods left thousands stranded across the area
By KEVIN MORAN, RUTH RENDON and RAD SALLEE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Southeast Texans face more heavy rains today, but forecasters say the downpours likely will be more isolated and less intense than those that contributed to the deaths of three people in the Houston area Thursday.
Still, it will take less rain to produce the same level of flooding that plagued parts of the Houston area Thursday, forecasters said.
"We do expect more rainfall in central and eastern Harris County, and it won't take much more rain to put things back under water," National Weather Service meteorologist Patrick Blood said at 7:30 a.m. today. "We're probably not going to get the super-heavy rainfall amounts over the city that we got yesterday."
The weather service says 1 to 3 inches of rainfail is possible in isolated areas today. Widely scattered but heavy rains are most likely to break out in late morning through mid-afternoon, Blood said.
Although today's rainfall is expected to be less in most areas than yesterday's, "it won't take but half the amount of rain that we had yesterday to get the same type of flooding today," he said.
Blood emphasized that motorists should not try to drive through high water.
A flash flood watch is in effect until 7 p.m. today for Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Jackson, Liberty, Matagorda, Waller and Wharton counties.
Two people died Thursday after the roof of a Clear Lake-area supermarket's loading dock and storage area collapsed without warning. One worker was crushed and a second man died later at Ben Taub General Hospital.
At least one other death was reported in the region Thursday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin pummeled the Houston area. The deluge left thousands stranded on flooded freeways and side streets.
The driver of an 18-wheeler apparently drowned Thursday afternoon after he accidentally drove his rig into a flooded retention pond near the intersection of state highways 225 and 146 in the La Porte area, a Harris County sheriff's spokesman said.
The driver, in his late 50s, was not identified.
Elsewhere in Texas, three people were killed in what was called a weather-related collision near New Braunfels, and the body of a 19-year-old man was recovered from a rain-swollen creek in San Antonio.
The identity of the Coca-Cola employee killed at the Randalls store at 2323 Clear Lake City Blvd. was withheld. The Harris County Hospital District identified Randalls employee Daniel Whitt as the second fatality in the collapse.
Whitt, 26, was pronounced dead at 8:01 p.m. in the surgical intensive care unit at Ben Taub, with his wife and pastor by his side, said Shannon Rasp, a hospital district spokeswoman.
District Fire Chief Tom Frankum said firefighters were alerted to the collapse at 11:39 a.m. but had to use special equipment to get through the wreckage. He said Whitt was pulled from the tangle of roof trusses, sheet metal and asphalt shingles at 12:43 p.m.
Cars washed onto tracks
In Houston, the storm flooded city streets, disrupting light rail and bus service for hours. Near Reliant Park, what was described as a flash flood washed vehicles onto nearby train tracks. In Rice Village, adventurous teens rode the tumultuous water in the streets on inflated inner tubes.
Reports of residential flooding, however, were sparse.
National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Mooreland said south and southeast Houston received the worst soaking. Almost 9 inches were recorded at Hunting Bayou and Lockwood.
"The area extending south toward Hobby Airport and west toward the Medical Center saw 4 to 7 inches, as did Clear Lake, Pasadena and South Houston," he said.
The National Hurricane Center predicted the center of the storm would reach West Texas this morning and the New Mexico border by dusk. Mooreland said thundershowers, some severe, may linger in the Houston area through Saturday.
Storm moves west
As Erin drifted to the west, weather worriers turned their eyes far to the east, where Hurricane Dean stalked the West Indies with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.
At 7 a.m. today, Dean was centered about 50 miles west-southwest of Martinique and moving west at about 23 mph. The Category 2 hurricane was expected to intensify as it entered the warm waters of the Caribbean, heading toward Jamaica.
Dean is still days away from the Gulf Coast, if it heads this way at all, but officials were gearing up for the possibility of the season's most severe storm yet.
"It's so far out, but it's not too early to start preparing," said Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry. "We have more notice than with Erin. We're glad for that, especially since (Dean) is projected to bring some strength."
Erin's impact on the Houston area largely was limited to intense rainfall and moderate flooding.
Several inches of water filled dozens of units in the Crestmont Village West Apartments at 5638 Selinsky in the Sunnyside neighborhood. And in east Houston, water infiltrated school buildings at Patterson Elementary, Bellfort Academy and DeZavala Elementary.
The downpour also was blamed for a roof collapse at a warehouse behind the old Maxwell House coffee plant on Harrisburg. No injuries were reported.
About 3:30 p.m., a homeless woman identified only as "Jay" was rescued from a ledge of the Smith Street bridge spanning Buffalo Bayou. Water churned just about a foot from her perch as a Fire Department crew reached the scene in an inflatable boat.
"The rain just got to be too much," the woman said, noting that she and a companion had chosen the ledge as a safe spot to spend the night.
Power outages
At the storm's peak, as many as 20,000 CenterPoint Energy customers were without power, officials said. That number was down to 7,000 by nightfall and crews continued to work through the night restoring power.
Medical Center OK
The Texas Medical Center, site of devastating flooding during Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001, locked down hospital garage floodgates just before noon when water in the nearby Harris Gully culvert reached 10 feet in depth.
Harry Holmes, Medical Center senior vice president, reported localized street flooding but said the high water posed no significant obstacle to reaching hospitals.
At the nearby Houston Zoo, workers were surprised to find poncho-covered animal lovers traipsing across the sodden grounds during a driving rain. About 150 visitors showed up, said spokesman Brian Hill. A normal summer day would draw about 3,000 visitors.
This story was written by Chronicle reporter Allan Turner. Chronicle reporters Lindsay Wise, Mike Glenn, Eric Berger and Salatheia Bryant; Chronicle photographer Nick de la Torre, the San Antonio Express-News and The Associated Press contributed.
Floods left thousands stranded across the area
By KEVIN MORAN, RUTH RENDON and RAD SALLEE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Southeast Texans face more heavy rains today, but forecasters say the downpours likely will be more isolated and less intense than those that contributed to the deaths of three people in the Houston area Thursday.
Still, it will take less rain to produce the same level of flooding that plagued parts of the Houston area Thursday, forecasters said.
"We do expect more rainfall in central and eastern Harris County, and it won't take much more rain to put things back under water," National Weather Service meteorologist Patrick Blood said at 7:30 a.m. today. "We're probably not going to get the super-heavy rainfall amounts over the city that we got yesterday."
The weather service says 1 to 3 inches of rainfail is possible in isolated areas today. Widely scattered but heavy rains are most likely to break out in late morning through mid-afternoon, Blood said.
Although today's rainfall is expected to be less in most areas than yesterday's, "it won't take but half the amount of rain that we had yesterday to get the same type of flooding today," he said.
Blood emphasized that motorists should not try to drive through high water.
A flash flood watch is in effect until 7 p.m. today for Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Jackson, Liberty, Matagorda, Waller and Wharton counties.
Two people died Thursday after the roof of a Clear Lake-area supermarket's loading dock and storage area collapsed without warning. One worker was crushed and a second man died later at Ben Taub General Hospital.
At least one other death was reported in the region Thursday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin pummeled the Houston area. The deluge left thousands stranded on flooded freeways and side streets.
The driver of an 18-wheeler apparently drowned Thursday afternoon after he accidentally drove his rig into a flooded retention pond near the intersection of state highways 225 and 146 in the La Porte area, a Harris County sheriff's spokesman said.
The driver, in his late 50s, was not identified.
Elsewhere in Texas, three people were killed in what was called a weather-related collision near New Braunfels, and the body of a 19-year-old man was recovered from a rain-swollen creek in San Antonio.
The identity of the Coca-Cola employee killed at the Randalls store at 2323 Clear Lake City Blvd. was withheld. The Harris County Hospital District identified Randalls employee Daniel Whitt as the second fatality in the collapse.
Whitt, 26, was pronounced dead at 8:01 p.m. in the surgical intensive care unit at Ben Taub, with his wife and pastor by his side, said Shannon Rasp, a hospital district spokeswoman.
District Fire Chief Tom Frankum said firefighters were alerted to the collapse at 11:39 a.m. but had to use special equipment to get through the wreckage. He said Whitt was pulled from the tangle of roof trusses, sheet metal and asphalt shingles at 12:43 p.m.
Cars washed onto tracks
In Houston, the storm flooded city streets, disrupting light rail and bus service for hours. Near Reliant Park, what was described as a flash flood washed vehicles onto nearby train tracks. In Rice Village, adventurous teens rode the tumultuous water in the streets on inflated inner tubes.
Reports of residential flooding, however, were sparse.
National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Mooreland said south and southeast Houston received the worst soaking. Almost 9 inches were recorded at Hunting Bayou and Lockwood.
"The area extending south toward Hobby Airport and west toward the Medical Center saw 4 to 7 inches, as did Clear Lake, Pasadena and South Houston," he said.
The National Hurricane Center predicted the center of the storm would reach West Texas this morning and the New Mexico border by dusk. Mooreland said thundershowers, some severe, may linger in the Houston area through Saturday.
Storm moves west
As Erin drifted to the west, weather worriers turned their eyes far to the east, where Hurricane Dean stalked the West Indies with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.
At 7 a.m. today, Dean was centered about 50 miles west-southwest of Martinique and moving west at about 23 mph. The Category 2 hurricane was expected to intensify as it entered the warm waters of the Caribbean, heading toward Jamaica.
Dean is still days away from the Gulf Coast, if it heads this way at all, but officials were gearing up for the possibility of the season's most severe storm yet.
"It's so far out, but it's not too early to start preparing," said Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry. "We have more notice than with Erin. We're glad for that, especially since (Dean) is projected to bring some strength."
Erin's impact on the Houston area largely was limited to intense rainfall and moderate flooding.
Several inches of water filled dozens of units in the Crestmont Village West Apartments at 5638 Selinsky in the Sunnyside neighborhood. And in east Houston, water infiltrated school buildings at Patterson Elementary, Bellfort Academy and DeZavala Elementary.
The downpour also was blamed for a roof collapse at a warehouse behind the old Maxwell House coffee plant on Harrisburg. No injuries were reported.
About 3:30 p.m., a homeless woman identified only as "Jay" was rescued from a ledge of the Smith Street bridge spanning Buffalo Bayou. Water churned just about a foot from her perch as a Fire Department crew reached the scene in an inflatable boat.
"The rain just got to be too much," the woman said, noting that she and a companion had chosen the ledge as a safe spot to spend the night.
Power outages
At the storm's peak, as many as 20,000 CenterPoint Energy customers were without power, officials said. That number was down to 7,000 by nightfall and crews continued to work through the night restoring power.
Medical Center OK
The Texas Medical Center, site of devastating flooding during Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001, locked down hospital garage floodgates just before noon when water in the nearby Harris Gully culvert reached 10 feet in depth.
Harry Holmes, Medical Center senior vice president, reported localized street flooding but said the high water posed no significant obstacle to reaching hospitals.
At the nearby Houston Zoo, workers were surprised to find poncho-covered animal lovers traipsing across the sodden grounds during a driving rain. About 150 visitors showed up, said spokesman Brian Hill. A normal summer day would draw about 3,000 visitors.
This story was written by Chronicle reporter Allan Turner. Chronicle reporters Lindsay Wise, Mike Glenn, Eric Berger and Salatheia Bryant; Chronicle photographer Nick de la Torre, the San Antonio Express-News and The Associated Press contributed.