Severe thunderstorms struck the Fort Worth area this morning resulting in flash flood warnings and road closures.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation, numerous roads were closed including IH 35E heading northbound, SS 348 heading eastbound, SH 183 heading eastbound and Walton Walker Boulevard due to flooding. All have since reopened but traffic is moving slowly.
According to the Fort Worth Police Department, the southbound East Loop 820 at Rosedale remains closed due to high water as of 2 p.m.. Traffic had been diverted to Lancaster.
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The National Weather service issued a warning about wind gusts and flooding that was in affect until 11:30 a.m..
Lamont Bain, a representative from the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, said there are key things people can do to stay safe during flood conditions:
- Stay away from smaller creeks and streams
- If you see flooded roadways, turn around and find an alternate route.
- If an official has already barricaded an area, don’t attempt to use that road.
Bain also said the forecast is “very wet, with some potential for flooding.”
“This is our second round in 24 hours, and we have a couple more rounds coming through,” Bain said. “Much of the area is already seeing two to five inches of rainfall, and we think there’s around two to four more inches coming.”
He said some areas could see as many as 10 or 12 inches.
The severe weather is expected to begin to conclude around Saturday night or early Sunday, Bain said.
Hurricane Patricia, a category five storm that’s expected to make landfall in Mexico later today, is not expected to contribute to Fort Worth’s weather, he said.
“The hurricane is coming late in the game,” Bain said. “It’ll play a role for areas down south, especially as we get into the weekend, but as far as DFW, [the weather] is mostly successive rounds of thunderstorms.”
According to The Weather Channel there is suppose to be a break in the rain until around 5 p.m today.
Continue to check back here for updates as this story develops.
