Following the deadliest flooding year in recent San Antonio history, city officials are reminding residents to “Turn Around, Don’t Drown” as they observe Flood Awareness Week. And here comes another stretch of severe weather.
As part of that effort, the San Antonio Fire Department on Monday released a list of the city’s 10 most dangerous low-water crossings based on high-water rescue data collected between 2015 and 2025, highlighting roadways where firefighters have repeatedly responded to stranded motorists during heavy rain events.
This week, the National Weather Service forecasts an active stretch of severe weather across South Central Texas, with multiple rounds of storms capable of producing heavy rainfall, hail, damaging winds and localized flooding in San Antonio.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Emily Heller said the region’s first significant round of storms is expected to move through the city on Tuesday evening into the overnight hours.
Heller said localized rainfall totals could be between 3 and 5 inches this week depending on how thunderstorms develop and where the heaviest storm cells stall.
“With thunderstorms, it really just kind of depends on who gets the heavier thunderstorms if they’re in a line or more scattered,” she said. “So giving an overall amount is a little tough.”
Rain chances are expected to continue through Memorial Day weekend and into early next week, according to the NWS.
According to the National Weather Service’s “Turn Around Don’t Drown” campaign, more than half of all flood deaths nationwide involve vehicles driven into flooded roadways.
Just 12 to 18 inches of moving water can carry away most vehicles, including SUVs and trucks, warned fire department officials on Monday.
Local officials have repeatedly stated that roadway flooding remains one of the region’s deadliest public safety threats during severe weather events, with many flood-related deaths in Bexar County occurring after drivers attempt to cross flooded roads or low-water crossings.
Last June, fast-moving floodwaters swept vehicles off a Loop 410 access road near Perrin Beitel, killing 13 people in a single morning and contributing to the 15 flood-related deaths reported across San Antonio in 2025 — the city’s deadliest flooding year since the “Great Flood” of 1998.
This year, two flood-related deaths have already been reported in San Antonio, both involving people found in or near swollen waterways after heavy rain events.
The most dangerous low-water crossings in San Antonio
The most rescue-prone roadway in the city over the last decade was Old Seguin Road at Salado Creek located in District 2 on the city’s East Side, where firefighters responded to 46 high-water rescues from 2015 to 2025, according to a newly released ranking from SAFD.
Old O’Connor Road north of Lookout Road in District 10 on the North Side ranked second with 31 rescues, followed by Hollyhock Road west of Babcock Road in District 7 with 20 rescues.
Several of the crossings identified by SAFD are located near creeks and drainage corridors that have repeatedly flooded during major rain events over the last several years.
Four of the crossings were located within roughly five miles of Salado Creek, where flood-related deaths were reported last year and again this year.
All of the 10 listed roadways were north of U.S. Highway 90.
Top 10 Most Dangerous Low-water Crossings in San Antonio
1. Old Seguin Road at Salado Creek (District 2) — 46 rescues
2. Old O’Connor Road north of Lookout Road (District 10) — 31 rescues
3. Hollyhock Road west of Babcock Road (District 7) — 20 rescues
4. Pinn Road south of West Commerce Street (District 6) — 14 rescues
5. Spencer Lane east of Balcones Drive (District 1) — 13 rescues
6. Ira Lee Road north of Austin Highway (District 10) — 12 rescues
7. Sleepy Hollow at Sunburst Drive (District 8) — 10 rescues
8. Gibbs Sprawl Road at Rosillo Creek (District 2) — 10 rescues
9. West Commerce Street from Pinn Road to Military Drive (District 6) — 9 rescues
10. North Loop Road southeast of West North Loop Road (District 9) — 8 rescues
A NextGen warning system
Last year, the San Antonio River Authority entered into an interlocal agreement with Bexar County to begin development of a roughly $20 million “NextGen” flood warning system intended to improve how quickly emergency officials can detect rising water and warn drivers before roads become impassable.
The system is designed around the type of flooding that has historically caused the most deaths locally: motorists driving into flooded low-water crossings.
“That reality has shaped the county’s broader flood response strategy,” River Authority Engineering Manager Erin Cavazos previously told commissioners in April. “One that relies less on audible warnings and more on preventing drivers from entering flooded roadways in the first place.”
The effort includes surveying existing high-water detection systems across the county, identifying gaps in flood coverage, expanding flood gauge networks and developing predictive flood modeling capable of warning drivers and emergency managers that rising water upstream may soon impact roadways farther down a creek or watershed.
Officials are also working to improve how flood information is shared with the public through systems such as BexarFlood.org and navigation apps like Waze and Google Maps, which can alert drivers to flooded roads and closures in real time.
County leaders have also accepted state funding through the Texas Water Development Board to install flood warning sirens in high-risk areas following last summer’s catastrophic Kerr County floods, which led to 119 deaths.
Officials have cautioned, however, that sirens are less effective at preventing the type of flood deaths most common in Bexar County, where many fatalities involve motorists driving into flooded roadways.
Local leaders emphasized that the most effective flood prevention measure remains convincing drivers to turn around when they encounter flooded roads or barricades.
Residents can monitor flooded crossings and road closures through SA.gov/Floods and sign up for emergency notifications through SA.gov/Alerts.
