Parts of Dallas-Fort Worth slammed by heavy rainfall, flash flooding

Thunderstorms drenched North Texas on Monday after a storm system brought a deluge of heavy rain that flooded homes and submerged cars, killing at least one person.

A woman’s body was pulled from the Scyene Road bridge at the Interstate 635 Service Road in Mesquite as the water receded Monday afternoon, according to the Mesquite Fire Department.

Fire officials said the woman’s car may have been swept off the road by flood waters. Her identity was not released and the incident is under investigation, officials said.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins declared a state of disaster after a preliminary assessment of the damage caused by the storm. When disasters are declared, it can open up manpower for a speedier response, and the declaration also opens up federal financial assistance.

Homeowners affected can report damages on the Texas Division of Emergency Management website, Jenkins said.

Emergency crews across the region had responded to hundreds of water-related emergencies throughout the day. But the flooding still wreaked havoc on the Monday morning commutes of thousands, including students across North Texas who recently started school.

Parts of Dallas were forecasted to receive 8 inches of rain, but in some areas the rainfall far exceeded those expectations. One reading near South Dallas and Pleasant Grove captured more than 14 inches of rainfall over the past 24 hours, according to the Dallas Water Utility. Neighborhoods closer to downtown Dallas recorded more than 10 inches of rainfall.

A flood watch remained in effect until 8 p.m. for parts of North Texas.

Damages, injuries and outages

At least four people have been taken to hospitals due to weather-related incidents, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue. There were 50 traffic signals either without power or not properly working, the city’s transportation department said Monday.

By Monday evening, Oncor reported 432 outages affecting more than 10,300 customers due to the heavy rain, lightning and wind gusts from the thunderstorms, according to Oncor spokeswoman Connie Piloto.

“These weather impacts can also cause vehicle accidents and trees or debris to come into contact with our power lines or equipment,” Piloto said in an email.

Piloto said the flooding could cause delays in restoration times for those experiencing outages. It was unclear Monday night when power would be restored.

Dallas police have responded to almost 470 traffic and water-related calls since 6 p.m. Sunday, including 147 calls reporting people stuck in high water. A little more than 100 calls have been related to freeway accidents.

Dallas police spokeswoman Kristin Lowman said one police officer suffered a non-life threatening leg injury during a high-water call at Botham Jean Boulevard and Herald Street in South Dallas.

She said more than 20 squad cars were damaged by the floods and police are “working with the city garage to put others back in service to replace those losses in the short term.”

Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to 334 emergency calls related to the weather between 6 p.m. Sunday and 1 p.m. Monday, including 94 calls to rescue people stranded in water. Eight Dallas Fire-Rescue vehicles were damaged due to floods, and crews used boats to get to some stranded drivers.

“If you’re going down a thoroughfare and see water building up, just turn around,” said Jason Evans, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman.

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‘It’s like a wading pool’

Areas around the Trinity River will remain under a flood warning until Tuesday morning, according to the weather service. Early Monday, the river had reached 18 feet in Dallas, a rapid rise from 12 feet Sunday. The river was forecasted to rise to 34.3 feet by Monday evening, beyond the 30-foot flood stage indication of minor flooding.

Flooding on Chestnut Street in Deep Ellum submerged at least eight cars. Nearby, several lanes of Interstate 30 were closed due to high water levels, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. In Mesquite, several abandoned cars were seen in tire-deep water near Scyene Road and Interstate 635.

Rawlins Gilliland woke early Monday morning and heard an unusual noise in his southeast Dallas home. It sounded like his new puppy, a Chihuahua-terrier mix, was splashing in water.

Confused, Gilliland, a retired poet and writer, stepped into his office to find it partially underwater.

”It’s like a wading pool,” Gilliland said. He spent the day sopping up water.

He added: ”This summer has been monstrous. It has just been a mean summer. And now this.”

Karen Cox watched nervously as floodwaters rose around her townhouse near the busy West 7th corridor in Fort Worth. Outside her front door, water blanketed the front steps. Cars once parked on the street, including her daughter’s, floated by.

”We had cars on the sidewalk, cars floating,” Cox said. “All of the cars created a little wake.”

The Fort Worth Police Department said they attended to more than 50 water-related emergency calls between 8 p.m. Sunday and 5 a.m. Monday. None of the calls included injuries or the loss of life, the police department said Monday morning.

Delays and closures

Heavy rains also caused delays at local airports. Hundreds of incoming and outgoing flights at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field were delayed or canceled because of the thunderstorms.

The Dallas Zoo closed Monday afternoon. In a tweet, the zoo said all of its animals were safe but some walkways were flooded.

Despite some delays to bus routes, most classes at North Texas schools continued as scheduled. Officials with Dallas ISD warned parents that some buses may be late picking up students; Mesquite ISD stopped all buses and said it would not resume routes until “road conditions improve.”

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system operated Monday with train service delays, bus routes canceled and streetcars suspended due to inclement weather.

DART asked its passengers to call 214-979-1111 or check the DART GoPass app to confirm if their usual routes were delayed. Trains on all lines experienced Monday morning delays at stations such as Cityplace/Uptown, Downtown Carrollton, Lovers Lane and St. Paul. By 2 p.m., however, light rail service was operating normally for the most part, according to the app’s schedule report.

DART also canceled some bus routes following flooding, and Dallas Streetcars were suspended and replaced by bus shuttles, the system reported.

In Fort Worth, Trinity Metro reported that the North Side station was temporarily closed to bus traffic Monday. All TEXRail trains operated at reduced speeds as a safety measure, resulting in service delays.

Sewage overflows

Heavy rainfall caused more than 400,000 gallons of sewage overflows in northwest Dallas, Oak Cliff and the White Rock Lake area, according to Dallas Water Utilities.

The overflows at nearly two dozen locations occurred between around 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday. None of it has affected the city’s water supply, said Zachary Peoples, Dallas Water Utilities assistant director.

Crews are monitoring and cleaning up the sewage at the locations. He said about 100,000 gallons of sewage each overflow at four major drainage basins: east bank in the northwest Dallas area, west bank and five mile in Oak Cliff, and White Rock near the lake.

Residents whose water supply comes from wells within a half-mile of the spill sites or within possibly affected areas should boil it for at least a minute or use distilled water, Peoples said. They should also have the well water tested and disinfected.

Rain to continue through the week

The rain won’t end anytime soon, according to meteorologists. Rain is expected in Dallas throughout the week, but the chances for showers diminish as the days go on. To make matters even more complicated, a “major comms outage” disrupted the local National Weather Service office’s ability to disseminate data.

“The good news is that NWS meteorologists are still receiving all radar data to make warning decisions,” the weather service said in a tweet. “We are able to communicate and transmit all warnings and product information through our backup offices.”

Here’s the forecast for the rest of the week in Dallas:

Tuesday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms possible after 10 a.m. Chance of rain is 50%. High temperature is 85; low is 72.

Wednesday: Slight chance of rain before 10 a.m., then chances of showers and thunderstorms between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Chance of rain is 20%. High temperature is 87; low is 72.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms possible after 1 p.m. Chance of rain is 20%. High temperature is 89; low is 73.

Friday: Chance of showers after 1 p.m. High temperature is 92; low is 74.

Staff writers José Luis Adriano, Kelli Smith and Isabella Volmert contributed to this report.