Friday, August 30, 1996

Heavy Rainfall Finally Makes Impact In Texas

By LINDA LEAVELL
Associated Press Writer

North Texas was finally getting the drenching kind of rain - 5 inches in at least one town - that might make a dent in the devastating drought, weather experts said Thursday.

"Farmers call this a real soaker," National Weather Service hydrologist Ernie Cathey said. "That's what it's doing. Getting some of the soil moisture back in."

A line of storms stretching from Tyler and Longview in Northeast Texas to Lampasas towards the southwest had settled over the region on Thursday. Thunderstorms moving up that line were producing some heavy rainfall; a flash flood watch was posted until the afternoon.

Several towns reported about 3 inches of rain, with Gorman getting splashed with 5 inches in 24 hours, Cathey said. The Leon River enjoyed the first rise for a Texas river in 13 months, he said.
"It's not that significant a rise, it's just the first one we've had in over a year," Cathey said.

The steady downpour was too much for one Sherman department store. "Every time it rains the ceiling looks like a sieve," one employee told the Sherman Democrat. "We were screaming for rain last week. Now we complain because we are getting wet."

Two roads in Comanche County, Texas 36 and FM 587, were flooded during the pre-dawn hours after as much as 4 inches of rain fell.

Comanche County chief investigator Vernon Gaines reported a dramatic rescue when a car tried to cross a flooded bridge. Four passengers got out and held on to a guardrail until authorities helped them to safety.

A fifth person was swept down the creek and managed to latch onto a tree. A deputy swam out to save her with a rope tied around his waist.

"We haven't had anything else like that yet and hopefully we won't," Gaines said.

In Navarro County, heavy rain caused some flooding in a construction area along the southbound lane of Interstate 45 south of Corsicana. As much as 3 inches of rain fell in some areas.

The cloud cover and precipitation also were combining to keep temperatures low this week, with highs of 80 to 84 degrees predicted for North Texas on Thursday. The mid-90s is the norm for August.

"I don't think too many people will be complaining about that," NWS meteorologist David Martin said. "For this time of year, that's not bad."

"We'll get back up into the 90s again once the sun comes out."

Storms have drenched almost every drought-ravaged corner of Texas in the last week, though the state needs plenty more where that came from.

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman named eight Texas counties as eligible for Farm Service Agency emergency farm loans because of losses because of drought, high winds and high temperatures from Sept. 1, 1995, through May 31.

Ellis County was named a primary disaster area last Friday. Also eligible, because they are contiguous to Ellis County, are Dallas, Henderson, Hill, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro and Tarrant counties.

Rain was expected to continue in North Texas until Friday, when the system over North Texas would drift south to Lufkin, Austin and San Antonio, Martin said.

"It's going to help a lot," he said. "But we're still well below normal."

One downside of the downpours has been an invasion of mosquitoes in the Rio Grande Valley.
Crews this week began spraying around the region after fielding several complaints about the pests.
Health officials urged residents to pitch in by getting rid of stagnant water where mosquitoes breed.

"We have a saying here at the department: If you have mosquitoes around your home, they're probably your mosquitoes," said Carlos Rubenstein, director of the Brownsville Health Department.
"In times like these, we need the people to be doubly responsible. Take a five-minute walk through your yard. It will help us tremendously."