Dallas weather: Wednesday storms trigger major flooding, messy roadways across North Texas
Wednesday morning’s storms caused traffic troubles and caused some flooding in parts of North Texas.
Two clusters of storms moved through the region early Wednesday. The first system was the stronger one. The second one was sub-severe but brought heavy rain.
A Flash Flood Warning was issued for most of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, but it expired after the storm moved east.
For nearly two weeks, North Texas has been hammered with heavy rain, dumping about eight inches in the past week alone.
Wednesday morning was no different, causing the roads in Dallas County to become a hazardous place to be.
(TxDOT)
Even FOX 4 Traffic Reporter Chip Waggoner thought the morning commute was a doozy, and he's seen a lot.
"The last I remember us having this bad of issues with flooding happened around 2020," he said.
The weather was likely to blame for a multi-vehicle crash on southbound U.S. 75/Interstate 345 near Live Oak Street in Downtown Dallas.
An 18-wheeler hit the guardrail and plummeted off the side of the bridge. The truck ended up hanging from the top of the bridge by its rear axles. The driver was taken to the hospital, but there were no major injuries.
18-wheeler hangs from overpass in Downtown Dallas
A crash caused an 18-wheeler to hang from an overpass in Downtown Dallas Wednesday morning.
The east side of White Rock Lake in Dallas is notorious for flooding.
A FOX 4 photographer captured images of a vehicle almost completely submerged in high water near Lawther Drive.
Neighbors said the vehicle originally stalled near the stop sign two days ago. The driver had to be rescued. A current then moved the abandoned vehicle.
First responders also rescued a man who ended up at the bottom of a 60-foot embankment at White Rock Creek.
Man rescued from bottom of 60-foot embankment at White Rock Creek, DFR says
Officials say someone called 911 shortly after 5:30 a.m. because they heard a man yelling for help in the area.
Dallas Fire-Rescue said the man suffered non-life-threatening injuries to his lower body and was taken to the hospital for an evaluation.
"We have gotten so much rain that the ground is saturated," Waggoner said. "So it doesn’t take much, a quarter inch, half inch in an hour to cause flash flooding."
The flooding issues Wednesday speak to the exhausting stretch of severe weather North Texas has seen since Memorial Day.
In less than two weeks, DFR had nearly 100 high water calls and rescued eight people.
While it sounds like common sense, Waggoner says it’s important to turn around when you see standing water on the road.
"It only takes standing water about 6-8 inches deep moving quickly to start moving your vehicle," he said. "Just because you think you might be able to make it through doesn’t mean you will."
Aside from the high-water calls, DFR has also responded to 916 downed power lines. Many of those are from the May 28 storm.
Waggoner says because the ground is so saturated and drains are clogged from construction debris in some areas like LBJ Freeway, it makes for a dangerous situation when rain is in the forecast.
"The water levels can rise dramatically," he said. "From an inch or two to a foot or more in less than 30 seconds."
North Texas will get a much-needed break from the rain for the next few days. Another round of storms could come as early as Sunday.
DFW Live Radar
7-Day Forecast
After the early morning rain on Wednesday, things should be dry.
Temperatures will be in the 90s and uncomfortably humid.
Thursday should also stay dry, with temperatures climbing to the mid-90s.
The rain chances return Friday and more storms are expected on Sunday.