South Texas Braces for More Heavy Rain and Flash Flooding as Tornado Tears Through San Antonio

Severe weather continues to wreak havoc across southern Texas, with slow-moving storms bringing heavy rain and prompting warnings to evacuate flooded areas. The National Weather Service has reported a tornado touching down in the northwestern part of San Antonio, near Interstate 10, with videos on social media showing a small twister causing damage to apartment buildings and other properties.

The storms have already led to dozens of high-water rescues across the region, with warnings of potentially dangerous flash flooding in effect for some areas. Authorities are urging people to evacuate rather than be marooned by high water in Uvalde County and the city of Boerne, outside San Antonio. The deluge is forecast to continue through Thursday evening, with as much as 10 to 20 inches of rain possible in some places before the storms move out.

In Uvalde County, where the highest rainfall totals have been reported, officials have tallied 25 rescues as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, with more people needing help as river levels rise. State Rep. Don McLaughlin warned that despite a temporary lull in the rainfall, the waterways could become more dangerous as the rivers and creeks rise again. "The rivers and the creeks are going to be coming up, and they're going to be coming up again with a vengeance," McLaughlin said.

For residents like Frances McNamara, who watched the bloated Leona River sweep southward on Wednesday, the situation is a stark reminder of last year's deadly flooding in Texas Hill Country. "We've seen the water rise, but not to this extent," she said, describing how it rushed through a ditch next to her home with enough force to sound like a river on Tuesday. The memory of last year's floods, which killed over 100 people in Kerr County, is still fresh, and authorities are taking no chances, urging summer camps and retreat centers near rising rivers to be prepared for the worst.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties, and the Texas Game Warden Search and Rescue Team has been deployed to assist with rescues. Forecasters are warning that hilly terrain in other parts of the region could be especially vulnerable to heavy rain, with the highest level of concern for potentially dangerous flooding being areas west of San Antonio and north of Route 90.

As the situation continues to unfold, residents are being advised to stay vigilant and follow evacuation orders. With the rain showing no signs of abating, the region is bracing for more flooding and potentially catastrophic damage. The economic and environmental impact of the flooding is likely to be significant, and officials are working to mitigate the effects and provide support to those affected.