San Antonio picked up another 2 to 4 inches of rain overnight, as a slow-moving storm system spawned a tornado near The Rim on the Northwest Side, Wednesday morning, as forecasters warn the threat of additional flash flooding will continue through Thursday evening.
The National Weather Service said the heaviest rainfall in Bexar County fell along the Interstate 10 corridor near Six Flags Fiesta Texas during the overnight hours. While localized flooding remains possible throughout the San Antonio area, forecasters said the greatest concern continues to be west of the city, where repeated rounds of heavy rain have saturated the ground.
“The confidence for additional heavy rainfall is high,” National Weather Service meteorologist Harrison Tran said Wednesday. “The highest risk region continues to be west of San Antonio.”
A Flood Watch remains in effect through 7 p.m. Thursday for much of South Central Texas, including Bexar County and the Interstate 35 corridor. The National Weather Service warned that another 2 to 6 inches of rain is possible across much of the watch area, while isolated locations west of San Antonio could receive significantly higher amounts.
The greatest flood threat remains along U.S. 90 between San Antonio and Del Rio, the southern Edwards Plateau and portions of the western Hill Country, including Hondo and Uvalde.
Tran said rain gauges in that corridor have measured roughly 15 to 16 inches of rainfall over the past 36 hours, with more rain still expected.
“We could see significant flood impacts,” Tran said. “Considerable to locally catastrophic impacts are possible just with the amount of rain that’s fallen and the amount of rain they could get moving forward.”
Tornado near The Rim
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down around 7:50 a.m. Wednesday in northwest Bexar County.
Tran said the tornado was confirmed using radar data, video and photographs after it moved across the Loop 1604 corridor near The Rim retail area along I-10.
Meteorologists have not yet completed a damage survey, so no EF rating, estimated wind speeds or confirmed damage path have been released.
The San Antonio Fire Department said crews responded Wednesday morning to an apartment complex located at 6023 UTSA Blvd Apartment complex with severe roof damage and another damaged apartment building in the 5700-5800 block of Worth Parkway. The department also said it received multiple reports of damage to properties at The Rim after a tornado was reported in the area.
No injuries were reported. Fire officials also reported minimal water rescue calls overnight with no injuries reported during those responses.
Tropical moisture fueling prolonged event
Tran said the multi-day flooding event is being driven by a combination of deep tropical moisture and a slow-moving low-pressure system that has remained stalled across South Central Texas.
“That low pressure area unfortunately has remained in our area and hasn’t really moved out of South Central Texas. So we’ve had several rounds of really heavy rainfall,” Tran said. “Mainly the flood risk is just dependent on how soon all that moisture and that disturbance moves out of the area. And unfortunately, since it is very slow moving, it will take a few days for it to finally get on its way.”
The slow-moving system has allowed thunderstorms to repeatedly develop over many of the same areas, increasing the risk of flash flooding, particularly where soils are already saturated.
Although San Antonio has experienced periods of heavy rain, rainfall totals in the city have generally been much lower than communities farther west.
At San Antonio International Airport, Tuesday’s rainfall totaled 1.3 inches, breaking the previous daily record of 0.85 inches for July 14.
Drier weekend expected
Forecasters expect the flood threat to gradually diminish after Thursday as the slow-moving disturbance begins to move away from the region.
Some lingering showers remain possible Friday, primarily west of San Antonio near Del Rio and Rocksprings, but Tran said conditions should trend drier heading into the weekend.
“It’s a little unclear whether it’ll be completely dry, but it does look like we’ll at least trend towards drier weather for the weekend,” he said.
Until then, the National Weather Service is urging residents to closely monitor forecasts and avoid flooded roadways.
“The situation can change pretty quickly,” Tran said. “Make sure you have multiple ways to receive weather warnings, don’t drive around barricades and avoid flooded roads.”
Residents can sign up to receive alerts when low-water crossings close and view an interactive map of flooded crossings at BexarFloods.org.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
