Residents in three states have been warned on Monday about fatal floods as heavy rain falls at excessive rates.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms will move through southeast Texas and southern Louisiana on Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned, accompanied by severe wind gusts and hail in Louisiana. The storm has prompted meteorologists to issue a flash flood warning for Missouri, Louisiana and Texas, as well as flood warnings and watches for several other states including Kansas, Illinois and Oklahoma.
The storm produced life-threatening flash flooding in Louisiana, where up to 9 inches of rain fell in the Lake Charles region. Dangerous flash floods also occurred near Galveston, Texas, where up to 4 inches of rain had already fallen. Up to 3 inches of additional rainfall was expected to fall in Texas.
“Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles,” the NWS’s warning said. “Be especially cautious at night when it is difficult to recognize the dangers of flooding.”
Cars are parked in a flooded street on April 12, 2023, in Dania Beach, Florida. Flash flood warnings were issued for Missouri, Texas and Louisiana on Monday as heavy rain hit the area.
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A forecast from the NWS said that flash flooding was most likely to occur “in small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor drainage and low-lying areas.”
The storm is part of the same system that brought severe thunderstorms and tornadoes to the central Plains states late last week and into the weekend.
“This is the line moving through our area,” NWS meteorologist Nick Slaughter told Newsweek about the storm system. “Right now we are hoping people don’t drive through flooded water and continue to stay safe.”
Slaughter added that the heaviest rains have already passed through Texas and are currently battering Louisiana. In some areas, the worst of the rain is moving off shore.
“Now we are hoping all this floodwater will drain quickly,” he said, adding that meteorologists have heard reports of flash flooding at homes in the area, but no rescues have been necessary yet.
Slaughter said the storms were well-forecasted and that the Lake Charles region hasn’t experienced any “catastrophic flooding” yet.
Meanwhile, an NWS report said a low-pressure storm system will bring rain and thunderstorms to the Great Plains and the Mississippi Valley on Tuesday, with a slight risk for severe thunderstorms in eastern Nebraska, western Iowa, northwest Missouri, eastern Kansas, southeast South Dakota and southwest Minnesota. There is also a risk for “very large hail, severe wind gusts and a few tornadoes being the primary threats.”
Scattered rain and thunderstorms were also expected in the Ohio and Tennessee Valley and into the East Coast on Tuesday, the report added.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
