Heavy rains keep drenching South Texas, tornado reported in San Antonio

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Slow-moving storms drenched much of South Texas with more heavy rain on Wednesday, spawning a tornado in San Antonio after downpours washed out roads and farmland and led to dozens of high-water rescues across the region.

The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down in the northwestern part of San Antonio near Interstate 10. Videos posted on social media showed what appeared to be a small twister.

Warnings of potentially dangerous flash flooding were in effect for some areas as the deluge was forecast to continue through Thursday evening. As much as 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain was possible in some areas before the storms move out, the weather service said.

There have been no reports of deaths or injuries from the tornado or the flooding.

The highest rainfall totals so far — up to 16 inches (40 centimeters) — have been in Uvalde County, where officials tallied 25 rescues as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, and said more people needed help as river levels rose.

State Rep. Don McLaughlin said that despite a “little lull,” the rainfall wasn’t done and waterways could become more dangerous. “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.

Lightning flashed as clouds darkened the landscape across Uvalde, where the typically calm Leona River was swollen and brown water poured over low bridges. The riverbanks were strewn with debris, including branches and grass, plastic bags and a cactus, from a day earlier when the river was several feet higher.

The night had brought booming thunder through a steady rain, swelling the rivers and creeks that ran through or just around the town. The rain would abate, then pummel the small town with heavy drops, before lifting again.

Forecasters warned that hilly terrain in other parts of the region could be especially vulnerable to heavy rain. Flash flood warnings covered parts of Kerr County, where catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River last year killed more than 100 people, Kerr County officials said they have been in contact with summer camps and retreat centers where river flooding could happen.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties.

The highest level of concern for potentially dangerous flooding Wednesday was for areas west of San Antonio and north of Route 90, Weather service meteorologist Monte Oaks said.

Authorities posted videos on Tuesday showing a rescue crew in a boat navigating flooded streets and a vehicle being swept away by fast-moving waters. Five people were rescued by the Texas Game Warden Search and Rescue Team and four were rescued by a local game warden, said Maggie Berger, a Texas Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman.

Oaks said the rain is being fueled with tropical moisture, mostly from the Gulf of Mexico and some from the Pacific Ocean.

“This is called a typical mid-summer tropical weather pattern that happens in Texas,” said Oaks. “About once every five years, we’ll get socked in with a daily recurrence of heavy rain chances that’s generally produced by a stagnant kind of a pattern with a low-pressure center that’s just not moving very fast.”

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Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.