Third Day of Strong Storms Leaves Texas Swamped
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Waves of strong storms moved across Texas for the third straight day Wednesday, knocking out power, downing trees and stranding motorists in high waters.
One woman died when her car became submerged in southwest Bexar County.
Bexar County officials were rescuing people from another car underwater at the same crossing when they noticed a second vehicle. When a firefighter broke out the rear window of the vehicle, they discovered the body of a woman in her 40s. She was not immediately identified.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Tuesday, an angler was killed when he was struck by lightning in the Central Texas town of Cameron.
Ronald Jake Ingram, 23, of Cameron, was fishing in a stock tank with two others when a severe storm blew in and the fishermen decided to leave. Ingram was struck by lightning as he reeled in his fishing line and worked to untangle it from another man's line.
A line of storms moved through the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area about 6 p.m. Wednesday, bringing with it strong winds and heavy rains. Water gushed from manholes. People planning to enjoy an evening baseball game between the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees huddled in the concourse as the storms moved through. Water stood in the outfield.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Edna Ruano, a spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines, said 12 flights were grounded and one diverted at the height of the storm in Dallas. Operations were to resume about 8 p.m. but flights were expected to be delayed about an hour to an hour and a half, she said.
Meanwhile, torrential rain fell in parts of West Texas, flooding at least two homes and briefly knocking out Odessa's emergency phone system, officials said.
It marked the third day in a row for warnings and watches for the National Weather Service, which monitored storms that fired up frequently across the state.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Odessa, school administrators took precautions when a storm struck Wednesday morning. At LBJ Elementary, students were moved to the school's hallways from portables and classrooms. First-graders sat in rows holding open books above their heads.
About 11 inches of water filled the basement of the Ector County Library during the storm but there was no major damage.
"Water came down Sam Houston so fast it went over the sidewalk and just poured down the air intake. It was a mass of water," Jeaux White, head of technical services at the Ector County Library, said in a story for Thursday's Odessa American. "It's a recurring problem."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rocks and leaves washed onto roadways, vehicles stalled and trash bins floated away. No major injuries or deaths were reported.
Numerous streets and all underpasses were closed in Odessa because of the heavy rainfall, said Dale Childers, Odessa's assistant fire chief. Some streets were covered with as much as 4 feet of water, he said.
"We had a tremendous amount of rain in a short period of time," he said, adding that two homes flooded and more could be reported. "It's not raining anymore, but we're anticipating a redevelopment this afternoon. That's what I'm afraid of."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The county's emergency management office issued a flash flood warning late Wednesday morning urging Odessa residents to stay inside and not drive.
Pat Vesper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Midland, said radar estimates indicated parts of Ector County, which includes Odessa, received as many as 5 inches. Radar indicated as much as 7 inches of rain in counties to the west, he said.