Hurricane Remnants to Increase TX Rain

DALLAS (AP) -- A wave of heavy rain is expected to intensify over the middle third of Texas as a major Pacific hurricane jets moisture into the state.

Hurricane Patricia, a category 5 storm, was expected to make landfall near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Friday and move northeast toward South Texas.

That was to combine with an upper-level disturbance associated with a cold front. The result: downpours of 5 to 8 inches with isolated pockets of 10 to 12 inches in the Texas Hill Country and along the Interstate 35 corridor from the Austin-San Antonio area to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Flash flood watches have been issued for those areas.

Meanwhile, a coastal flood advisory has been issued for the upper Texas Gulf Coast from Palacios to Sabine Pass, where tidal rise of more than 4 feet is possible, flooding coastal roads.

Up to 3 inches of rain was reported in the cattle country west of Fort Worth on Thursday, and a handful of high school football games were postponed because of lightning.

Heavy rain in West Texas on Thursday led to flooding that floated several travel trailers and a double-wide mobile home away from an RV park.

Upton County Sheriff Dan Brown said nobody was in the trailers during the flooding in Rankin, 60 miles south of Odessa. The occupants safely evacuated.

(KA)