Flooding Swamps North Texas Again

North Texas was pounded yet again by strong thunderstorms late this afternoon. Rainfall rates in some areas including Haltom City and Watauga were up to 5 inches per hour. This excessive rain combined with the already saturated grounds made for a very bad combination. The expeditious runoff caused serious flooding very quickly. Areas affected by the flooding were cities in Denton, Northwest Dallas, Northeast Johnson, and Northeast Tarrant counties. There were many high water rescues this afternoon.

The heavy rains flooded out many cars, crept into houses, shut down streets, killed electricity, and flooded Interstate Loop 820 during rush hour backing up traffic for miles. Waters in some areas appeared to be several feet deep. One area hit was the part of Haltom City that was hit previously by the severe flooding where creeks looked more like large rivers, as did the streets.

According to the CBS 11 News website, the Texas Baptist Men relief crews will be spending their Fourth of July holiday helping flood victims and clean-ups. With the amount of damage in these areas, all the help will be welcomed.

New footage from several news agencies showed many high water rescues, however, it was also evident that many people were heading the warning from the National Weather Service and the Texas Department of Transportation to "turn around, don't drown". Public Officials say its never a good idea to drive into areas where water covers the road. Just a few inches of water can be significant enough to loose control and be swept away. It can be very hard to tell the depth of the water, especially at night.

And still, rain continues to be in the forecast for the next seven days. North Texas may get a little bit of a reprieve over the weekend as rainfall chances drop below fifty percent. However, the rain is expected to pick back up next Tuesday.

Many North Texas residents are asking how much more of this they can take. I for one, as a North Texas resident, am hoping for a much welcomed reprieve. Rain has fallen every day for the last ten days. If this rain continues to pound North Texas this way again and again the flooding problems already being experience will continue to become worse and possible evacuations my become necessary.

Please check back for more updates on the weather in North Texas as I will try to update with the latest.