Minor flooding in Dallas-Fort Worth possible with heavy rain Friday, Saturday morning
Showers, thunderstorms and patchy fog are to continue during the next two days after rain pummeled the Dallas-Fort Worth region on Thursday.
Heavy rain on Friday and Saturday morning could lead to minor flooding, particularly along and north of the Interstate-20 corridor, according to the National Weather Service.
Between a tenth and quarter of an inch of rain was forecast.
On Thursday, several vehicles crashed, firefighters were involved in water rescues, and a sinkhole opened, authorities said.
The rain began falling about 1 a.m. Thursday, and a band of isolated thunderstorms moved north over the region, said Patricia Sanchez, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth. Eastern parts of Tarrant County saw higher rainfall totals, according to the weather service, with automated rain gauges east of downtown Fort Worth indicating that up to 3 inches had collected.
Fort Worth firefighters responded to about 50 crashes Thursday morning and 10 water-related calls, according to Mike Drivdahl, a fire department spokesman. MedStar responded to 23 crashes with injuries during the morning rush period, and a loaded school bus slid off a road and got stuck in mud, a MedStar spokesman said. No one was injured.
A sinkhole at 700 E. Rosedale St., under the South Freeway overpass, will close two inside lanes for days, possibly weeks, police said.
There were a couple of spots in the area of Interstate 30 east of downtown where close to 4 inches of rain fell, Sanchez said.
Anyone who encounters high water in a vehicle, she said, should not risk it.
“‘Turn around, don’t drown’ — that’s pretty much our motto,” she said.
The threat of severe weather Friday and early Saturday appears low, the weather service said. North Texas should dry out over the weekend with sunny skies and high temperatures in the 50s, it said.
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 8:54 AM.
