The remnants of Tropical Storm Edouard moved within roughly 40 miles of Dallas early Thursday after dumping nearly 2 feet of rain in parts of East Texas, forcing water rescues and knocking out power to tens of thousands of customers.
At 4 a.m., the Weather Prediction Center located the remnants near latitude 32.5 north and longitude 96.5 west, about 40 miles southeast of Dallas and 65 miles west of Tyler. The system carried maximum sustained winds of 25 mph and moved west-northwest at 5 mph.
Forecasters expected the circulation to weaken and dissipate within 24 hours but warned that heavy rainfall and flooding would continue through Thursday. The Weather Prediction Center issued its final public advisory on Edouard at 4 a.m.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Edouard weakened to a tropical depression Tuesday night after making landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border.
Dallas area avoids East Texas-level flooding
The remnant center’s proximity did not place Dallas under the same extreme rainfall threat that struck East Texas. The National Weather Service’s Fort Worth office forecast the highest rain chances and totals for eastern Central Texas and the Brazos Valley, while much of the rest of North and Northwest Texas could receive little or no rain.
A Flood Watch remained in effect for eastern portions of Central Texas until 1 p.m. Thursday. Forecasters expected 1 to 3 inches across the watch area, with isolated totals reaching 6 inches. The office said localized flash flooding remained possible south of Interstate 20 and east of Interstate 35 through Thursday night.
Rescues and outages across East Texas
The Weather Prediction Center said northeast Texas could receive another 2 to 4 inches Thursday, bringing storm totals along Edouard’s path to 5 to 10 inches and as high as 22 inches in some locations. The agency warned of additional flash flooding and isolated moderate to major river flooding.
Hardin County officials reported rescuing 12 motorists from flooded roads and two residents from a flooded home. Falling trees and limbs damaged about 10 structures, while one commercial building sustained extensive roof damage. Officials reported no injuries in their preliminary assessment Wednesday.
Texas game wardens also helped evacuate 21 residents from a damaged assisted-living facility in Hardin County, the Associated Press reported.
Entergy Texas said outages peaked at about 80,000 customers. Roughly 39,000 customers remained without power at 6 p.m. Wednesday as more than 2,000 workers continued restoration efforts. By 6:40 a.m. Thursday, the company’s outage map showed 24,245 customers without electricity.
Flooding and debris continued to block roads in portions of East Texas early Thursday. Motorists can check current closures through DriveTexas and should never attempt to drive through floodwater.
Provided by Dallas Express
