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NWS extends flash flood watch to 1 p.m. for Bexar County, as soaked soil increases flooding chances
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Kat Gehrke watches a flooded Helotes Creek in Grey Forest after rains causes flooding at low water crossings throughout the town, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018. At the height of the rain storm, all low water crossings, including the main road leading into Grey Forest, Scenic Loop Road, were closed for several hours. lessKat Gehrke watches a flooded Helotes Creek in Grey Forest after rains causes flooding at low water crossings throughout the town, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018. At the height of the rain storm, all low water crossings, … more
Photo: JERRY LARA, San Antonio Express-News
Kat Gehrke watches a flooded Helotes Creek in Grey Forest after rains causes flooding at low water crossings throughout the town, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018. At the height of the rain storm, all low water crossings, including the main road leading into Grey Forest, Scenic Loop Road, were closed for several hours. less
Kat Gehrke watches a flooded Helotes Creek in Grey Forest after rains causes flooding at low water crossings throughout the town, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018. At the height of the rain storm, all low water crossings, … more
Photo: JERRY LARA, San Antonio Express-News
Bexar County will remain under a flash flood watch until 1 p.m. Monday as another round of showers and thunderstorms are expected to dump an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain in the area.
Though the rain predictions are not as high as the area has seen recently, the soil is already saturated with rainfall, creating the possibility of rapid run-off and flash floods, according to the National Weather Service.
RELATED: Heavy rain caused more than 70 road closures as flash flood watch extends into Monday
“You can think of dry soil like a sponge,” said Melissa Huffman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “If you have a dry sponge, it’ll hold water, but if you try to pour water onto a wet sponge, it will run off and collect in any place that it can.”
The soaked soil was already affecting San Antonio early Monday, as 36 streets across the city were closed for flooding. A full list of flooded roads can be found here.
Scatter showers and thunderstorms are expected to primarily affect the San Antonio area, as well as the Interstate 35 and Interstate 37 corridors, throughout Monday morning, but they could carry over to the afternoon and evening hours. As the day progresses, however, the significant rainfall will move closer and closer to the coast, the NWS said.
RELATED: NWS: 24-hour rainfall totals in San Antonio neighborhoods
In addition to Bexar County, the following counties will remain under a flash flood watch until 1 p.m.:
- Kinney
- Uvalde
- Medina
- Maverick
- Zavala
- Frio
- Atascosa
- Dimmit
Most counties are expected to received 2 inches of rain, but the NWS predicts some isolated areas could receive up to 4 inches.
On Sept. 1, the Alamo City was more than 7 inches behind its average rainfall totals for the year. Just a week later, it had exceeded that amount. Over the past 48 hours alone, the National Weather Service has recorded 7.11 inches of rainfall at the San Antonio River near Elmendorf.
As of Monday, the city had measured 24.23 inches of rain in 2018.
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Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns