Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, April 4, 2004

Thunderstorms produced general 1 inch rainfall in the central part of the county, with up to 6 inches south and east of Eagle Pass. City streets were flooded in Eagle Pass, with numerous cars stranded and their occupants forced to wait for rescue. Several homes were flooded along canals.

Storms produced general half-inch rainfall in southern Kinney County, with up to 3 inches west of Spofford. Brief flash flooding occurred along US 277.

A line of strong thunderstorms had stuck Crystal City near 1240 pm CST. Although individual storms were moving toward the northeast, the line appeared to be moving to the southeast. The downburst winds were all discharged toward the southwest, as all damage around Crystal City area was blown in that direction. Damage was severe in Crystal City. Leaves had been shredded from trees and plastered onto the sides of the cars and houses, and streets were covered with the shredded leaves. Homes had damage to their outside walls, roofs, and windows. What was shocking was to see the piles of semi-melted hail still as high as 2 feet in some of the drifts created by the flooding. In spite of the fact that the hail had been melting for over 24 hours when the survey was made, it was still piled in spotty waves across the city from east to west and north to south. Hail was reported to have been as large as 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter, with a couple of reports of hail to 3 inches. The high winds, combined with hail and rain, caused widespread damage to homes, destroying two mobile homes and the roofs of two houses. Several dozen homes in Crystal City sustained some type of damage. Some of the worst damage occurred at the library and the H.E.B. grocery store. The metal roof was blown off the library and deposited on the southwest side of the building. The roof of the H.E.B. grocery store collapsed. It appeared to be beneath the area where the air conditioners were positioned on the west side of the store. This is also where the rain and ice would have accumulated the thickest and would possibly have clogged drainage holes. One injury was reported in the storms.

Storms produced a general half-inch rainfall over Uvalde County with up to 3 inches in isolated locations in the south part of the county. Roads were reported to be under water in the south part of the county through the mid afternoon.

The heavy rainfall associated with the massive hail storm a few minutes earlier this afternoon produced widespread flash flooding across the city and in the countryside. In addition to the flooding along and north of Turkey Creek, flooding continued around Popeye Lake just south of town and Espantosa Slough southeast of town. US57 and FM393 were closed through the late afternoon due to the flash flooding.

Rainfall in Dimmit County averaged one-half inch with nearly 3 inches west of Carrizo Springs and up to 6 inches near Big Wells. Flash flooding closed several roads in Carrizo Springs through the mid afternoon

Streets were flooded in Pearsall after showers and thunderstorms left rain accumulations of up to 2 inches in the city and up to 3 inches north and west of the city. Three stranded vehicles were found near Divot.

Rainfall over Medina County averaged 1 inch, with up to 4 inches in the southeast part of the county. Numerous roads were reported flooded. Several persons were rescued from a vehicle that was stranded in high water along CR1343. One woman was rescued near Quail Valley in two feet of water. Another man was rescued in the south part of the county.

Flash flooding was reported across most of Atascosa County after thunderstorms dropped general 1 to 2 inch amounts over the county's saturated soils. Roads were closed in both Pleasanton and Jourdanton, where up to 3 inches of rain fell

Streets and rural roads were covered by flash flooding as general 1 inch rains fell over southern Bexar County. Up to 3 inches was indicated in the south part of the county.

Trees were blown down by severe thunderstorm winds just east of Somerset.

Brief, widespread flash flooding was reported in Seguin as 1 to 2 inches of rain fell over the saturated soils of southern Guadalupe County.