Flash Flood Warning continues for several counties as storms slowly roll out of south-central Texas | Track the rain

SAN ANTONIO — A Flash Flood Warning remains in effect for numerous counties after several inches of rain fell in just a few hours.

Flash Flood Warning until 8:45 a.m.:

• Southeastern Comal County
• Central and southeastern Guadalupe County
• Gonzales County
• Wilson County

Flash Flood Warning until 12:30 p.m.:

• DeWitt County
• Karnes County
• Lavaca County

As of 75 a.m., just 290 San Antonio residents remained without power due to the overnight storms. CPS Energy crews responded to the reported outages.

There also were 40 low water crossings in Bexar County that were reported closed.

The following local schools are starting classes two hours late on Thursday morning: Comal ISD, Gonzales ISD and Marion ISD.

This is a developing weather event. Refresh the page for the latest updates.

Previous updates:

A Flash Flood Warning was issued for parts of Kendall and Blanco counties where an estimated three inches of rain has fallen and two additional inches are possible. This warning expired after midnight.

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning for portions of Gillespie, Kerr and Bandera counties expired at 6:30 p.m. Previously, a Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued for parts of Uvalde, Real, Bandera and Kerr counties expired at 5:45 p.m. And a Tornado Warning previously in place for Blanco, Comal and Kendall counties has expired. 

Heavy rain arrived in parts of South Texas Wednesday afternoon and is continuing through this evening with a Flash Flood Watch in place until 7 p.m. on Thursday.

While the Flash Flood Watch will continue until late tomorrow afternoon, the heaviest of the rain is forecast for South Texas from 8 p.m. Wednesday through 2 a.m. on Thursday.

The heaviest rain in San Antonio and along the I-35 corridor will likely occur between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.

All of the rain is being driven by deep tropical moisture surging over the region from Mexico as Tropical Depression Pamela weakens and the remnants of the system move over South Texas.

Any rain that does occur tonight will likely be very heavy due to the amount of moisture within the profile of the atmosphere.

Expect lingering showers and storms during the morning on Thursday, but drier conditions will move in for the afternoon.

For the seven-day rainfall forecast, we are expecting four to six inches of rain in parts of the Texas Hill Country with other parts of the region experiencing one to three inches of rain. Nearly all of this rainfall is forecast to occur within the next 24-hours.

After Thursday, we will have the possibility of one more brief period of rain for Friday as a cold front sweeps across the Lone Star State.

Drier, cooler air will move in behind the front and temperatures will be in the 40s to 50s for lows and 70s for highs under a mostly clear sky throughout the weekend and into the early part of next week.

When severe weather threatens the area, it is important to know what risks a storm can bring and what you should do to stay safe. 

One of the most important things to know is where you are located on a map, so when a watch or warning is put into place, you can identify if you are at risk. When the National Weather Service puts out warnings, they are county-based and sometimes include cities as well. It is important to know where you live in the county and that you can identify it on a map.

It is also important to know the difference between a watch and a warning. A watch means that conditions are favorable for something to happen, but a warning means that something has developed and it is important to take action.

So, what would cause a thunderstorm to be qualified as a “severe” thunderstorm?

Hail that is one inch large is also considered to be about the size of a quarter.

Another ingredient that would lead to a storm becoming severe is if winds are 58 mph or greater.

Winds at this strength could cause damage to roofs and could even cause trees to be knocked down.

Finally, if a tornado is present inside a thunderstorm it would qualify the storm as becoming severe.

In this instance, a tornado warning would be issued.

A tornado watch can be issued for an area if strong storms are expected, and if the storms bring the risk for tornadoes, but not all storms include the threat for tornadoes. The ingredients in the atmosphere for a tornado to form are not always there when storms are present.

If the area you are in is ever under a tornado warning, it is important to know where you should go inside your home.

Head to the lowest, interior room of your home. The basement would be best, but if you don’t have one, head to the first floor of the home and get away from exterior walls, or walls that lead to the outside of the home.

It is also important to stay away from glass. The more walls you can put between you and the outside, the better.

While lightning can be frequent in storms and very dangerous, it does not lead to a storm being qualified as severe.

Remember, when thunder roars, go indoors.

Storms can also lead to flooding. Flooding may not cause a storm to be labeled as being severe, but it is the deadliest kind of weather.

South Texas is known to have major flood events every few years, so it is important to use caution and to always stay out of floodwaters. Remember, turn around, don’t drown.

Entering flood water is very dangerous as you can be swept off of your feet and you don’t know what could be in the water that could hurt you.

The best thing you can do to be ready for severe weather is know what you will do in the event it strikes where you live.

Make sure your family has a severe weather action plan.

Have a place everyone goes inside your home and keep supplies there, such as food, medication, batteries, and flashlights.

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