By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Tuesday’s heavy rains set a new rainfall record for Del Rio.
According to a climate report released early today by the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio, Del Rio received an official total of 4.56 inches of rain Tuesday, a new record for Sept. 3.
NWS records show the previous rainfall record for the date was 2.70 inches, set in 1934.
The heavy rains prompted the NWS to issue several flood advisories throughout the day as runoff turned drainages and streets into rivers that churned over low-water crossings, stranding motorists who drove through the high water.
Both city and county officials expressed frustration with motorists who disregarded barricades and wound up in deep water.
“We’ve checked with our emergency management team and all of the (four) county commissioners. Everyone’s got something going on. There were stranded vehicles in Cienegas Terrace, Val Verde Park Estates and everywhere else, and it’s the same old issues,” County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. told The 830 Times in a telephone interview late Tuesday morning.
“People need to understand that a little responsibility lies with them. When they decide to drive through high water and get stranded, they’re not only endangering themselves and whoever is in the vehicle with them, they’re also endangering the people who have to go out and rescue them,” the judge added.
Peter Ojeda, director of communications for the city of Del Rio, said Tuesday the city’s police and fire departments were called out to assist a number of stranded motorists at low-water crossings throughout the city.
The police department had its MRAP, a heavy, armored, high-clearance vehicle out on the streets, where Ojeda said it attempted to assist a number of stranded motorists.
During Tuesday night’s special city council workshop on the proposed city budget and new fees for city services, Councilwoman Carman Gutierrez also expressed frustration with motorists who ignore barricaded low-water crossings.
Gutierrez said she believed Del Rio, like the city of San Antonio, needs to issue citations and fines for motorists who deliberately drive around barricades blocking access to streets with low-water crossings.
Del Rioans will have a chance to dry out again today and into the weekend, with rain chances diminishing daily.
Del Rio has received an official total of 6.55 inches of rain so far this month, and an official total of 10.01 inches of rain since the first of the year. Put another way, Del Rio has received about 65 percent of its annual rainfall this year in the past three days.
Daniel Schreiber, a local meteorologist, spoke to The 830 Times about September’s soggy start.
“The reason it has been so rainy is that our winds in the low levels are from the east/southeast, allowing moisture transport from the Gulf of Mexico, while our winds at higher altitude are about the same speed from the west. Coupled with a little bit of atmospheric instability, this has allowed rain showers to form and sit rather stationary overhead, which encourages heavy rainfall because the storm doesn’t move, yet it is consistently allowed to feed on new, incoming moisture,” Schreiber wrote in an email.
Reach the writer at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
