Texas storms cause flooding, damage buildings; 3 women killed in car crash

Rainstorms accompanied by high winds swept across Texas, flooding streets, swelling creeks to near flood stage and damaging buildings.

Photo: Texas storms cause flooding, damage buildings; 3 women killed in car crash

Texas storms cause flooding, damage buildings; 3 women killed in car crash

Three women died Monday when their car slid on a wet highway and slammed into a truck in the hills west of Austin, authorities said.

Meanwhile, a West Texas game warden used a boat to rescue a man found on top of his minivan, which was swept away by flash flooding in Winters, authorities said. The National Weather Service said areas of Runnels County near Winters received more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain since midnight.

Storms in North Texas were dropping 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain per hour Monday afternoon.

In Rhome, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Fort Worth, straight-line winds blew over fences, damaged roofs and sent a metal pole crashing through the roof of one building, said Susan Gomez, a spokeswoman for the Wise County Sheriff's Department. No injuries were reported.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning near the North Texas town of Justin, predicting that Denton Creek would rise from less than 4 feet (1.2 meters) and crest at 14 feet (4.2 meters) by midnight before receding. The flood stage for the creek is 10 feet (three meters).

There was some street flooding in Cooke County near the North Texas town of Valley View, said Ray Fletcher, the county emergency management coordinator. A severe storm was expected to move in from the southwest later Monday, he said.

Sustained rainfall over the last month has left the ground saturated, and parts of North, Central and East Texas are at high risks of flash flooding, according to the state's emergency operations center. State officials have ordered search and rescue teams to be at a high state of readiness.

The severe weather shows no sign of letting up, with chances of rain and thunderstorms as high as 90 percent in some parts of Texas on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.