Flash Flooding Strands Motorists as Much Needed Rain Inundates San Angelo

SAN ANGELO – The National Weather Service office at Mathis Field is reporting 1 to 3 inches of rain flooded the San Angelo Area by midnight last night causing widespread flooding which left motorists stranded and first responders stretched thin.  

Officially at the airport 2.01 inches of rain fell in the last 24 hours by 5 a.m. The city was under a flash flood warning and police and firefighters responded to several water rescues, especially along College Hills Blvd. Police eventually shut down the busy street that is under construction during the flooding event after they were called to water rescues from College Hills and Oxford all the way to Valleyview.  

Firefighters were dispatched to a few structure fire calls as well. As of Saturday morning, no life threatening injuries had been reported. 

A squal line developed along a powerful cold front in the Permian Basin Friday afternoon and joined with Gulf moisture coming up from the south to create a slow moving storm complex which essentially parked over the Concho Valley.  

Severe storms with heavy rain were indicated by radar around Mertzon in Irion County and near Sterling City in Sterling County which is over the watersheds for Twin Buttes and O.C. Fisher reservoirs.  

It is unclear Saturday morning if enough rain fell to create vital measurable runoff for those lakes.  

Professional Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in San Angelo say there is a significant chance of additional rainfall through Monday and a chance for isolated rainfall all week.  

Light to moderate rain continues to fall across the Heartland and the Hill Country at the rate of about 1/3 to 1/2 inch every couple of hours.  

A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect through Saturday evening because storm redevelopment remains a possibility across the Concho Valley. Rainfall through the weekend will be more isolated in nature and not as heavy as Friday night.  There is an 80% chance of rain Saturday, 70% Sunday and Monday with lesser chances all the way through Friday. 

Pockets of heavy rain will continue across the area over the weekend. Since the ground is already saturated from Friday night's rain, flash flooding remains a real possibility with any heavier storms that develop. 

Please share your rainfall totals in the comments below!

This information will be updated throughout the weekend as conditions and new information or instructions is released by officials.