Heavy rainfall, wind, lightning and even a possible tornado made navigating Nacogdoches roadways treacherous on Thursday.
Slick roads attributed to causing several motor vehicle accidents, including a fatal one near Martinsville.
Michele Marcotte/The Daily Sentinel |
Rescue crews attempt to extract a Shelby County man from the back seat of a Chevrolet Cavalier. According to the DPS, the Cavalier hydroplaned into the westbound lane, striking an oncoming Dodge pickup. The collision resulted in two deaths, and a Shelby County man was injured.
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Keith Lansdale/The Daily Sentinel |
Cars drive through the intersection of Austin Street and University Drive splashing water in all directions after more than 4 inches of rain had fallen.
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Andrew Rogers/The Daily Sentinel |
After being trapped in his truck for more than two hours, firefighters carry the driver up a muddy hill to an ambulance. As of press time, the driver could not be identified. The accident occurred on Hwy. 259 near the intersection of Hwy. 59.
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Although the rains were heavy at times and forced several road closures in the city and county, no structural damages were reported as of press time Thursday. The severe weather was expected to subside by mid-morning on Friday, according to local forecasts.
A reported tornado supposedly touched down around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, 10 miles east of Nacogdoches near Martinsville, moving toward the northeast. Students at Martinsville school exercised tornado precautions, but while heavy rain and winds were reported, no damage was reported by the Nacogdoches County Sheriff's office dispatch.
At 5:15 p.m., the tornado warning was lifted, and the situation was downgraded to a severe weather warning that was expected to last through the night. A flash flood warning was also in effect for part of the evening.
The heavy rains were being monitored Thursday afternoon by the Nacogdoches Police Department, according to Sgt. Greg Sowell, public information officer for the Nacogdoches Police Department.
"We have been in conference calls for the past several days with the National Weather Service about this event that has been predicted," Sowell said earlier Thursday. "We've also been in contact with the Red Cross, and we are in contact with the shelter director and coordinator.
"We're just going to monitor the situation and react as necessary," he said. "As it stands right now, we're ready, and we'll just have to see what the weather does."
At one point Thursday evening, several streets in the city — ones that have a history of flooding in heavy downpours, such as Raguet and King streets and South Fredonia, South Pecan and Cox streets just south of downtown — were temporarily barricaded until the water receded.
The inclement weather was likely a contributing factor to several accidents occurring throughout the day Thursday, including an accident that involved an 18-wheeler that hydroplaned and overturned on U.S. Hwy. 259, and a fatal accident on state Hwy. 7 east near Martinsville that resulted in two deaths.
Bridges on CR 392 near Blackjack, and CR 425, Browns Ferry Road, closed Thursday afternoon due to flooding.
"We have a list of roads that we know the bridges are going to flood every time there is heavy rains," Joe English, Nacogdoches County judge, said. "We have people on call, and we have law enforcement that are monitoring the roads as well as the ones with potential problems."
The list of problematic roads released by English were County Roads 112, 220, 228, 230, 238, 271, 274, 280, 302, 420, 421, 425, 434, 441, 538, 525, 526, 536, 765 and 831.
"If someone has a road that's flooded, they need to call the sheriff's office at 560-7777," English said. "Also, whenever it gets wet like this, trees will fall. If one falls on the road, again, please call the sheriff's office."
As of early Thursday evening, Dr. Paul Risk, professor emeritus of forestry and weather data recorder, had measured more than 4 inches of rain for Thursday at his home just north of the city.
October has been a very high rain month this year, according to Risk.
"This is just crazy," he said. "We're all going to turn into a giant pile of mold and mushrooms."
National Weather Service officials said they would inspect the damage in a few days where the suspected tornado touched down to determine if it actually was a tornado and gauge its strength.
On a statewide level, Governor Rick Perry released a report mid-day Thursday stating the National Weather Service predicted the rainfall to continue for 48 hours, with some areas of the state receiving as much as nine additional inches of rain.
The greatest threat of flooding was expected to occur Thursday through Saturday morning in areas east of I-45 and south of I-30.
"Storms stretching across the state have created dangerous flash flood conditions that can form quickly, and I urge Texans in communities impacted by these storms to be cautious and pay attention to changing weather conditions," Perry said in the release. "As rainfall continues, the state is taking precautionary measures in the event assistance is needed, and I appreciate the brave men and women who are always ready to respond to an event that places Texans in harm's way."
Perry directed the activation of state search and rescue capabilities Thursday afternoon, including Texas Military Forces and Texas Task Force 1 (TTF-1) personnel and resources. The following state resources were on standby Thursday afternoon: 72 Texas Military Forces personnel (12 each to Austin, Beaumont, Houston, Longview, Lufkin and San Antonio; 20 Texas Military Forces high profile vehicles (five each) to Longview, Lufkin, Beaumont and Houston; 2 Texas Military Forces UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and 2 TTF-1 search and rescue personnel in Austin; 2 Texas Military Forces UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters and 2 TTF-1 search and rescue personnel in San Antonio; and 6 TTF-1 swift water rescue teams.
The rains were expected to last until Friday morning, according to Cary Burgess, broadcast meteorologist. He also said clearer skies were on the way.
"There will be showers all day Friday, and then you really should have a nice weekend," Burgess said.
