A woman drowned in her car Friday night after she tried to avoid floodwaters and plunged into a north Houston retention pond.
A bystander tried to convince the driver to leave the car before it submerged, but she was afraid of losing the vehicle, Houston Police Department spokeswoman Jodi Silva said Saturday.
Downpours drenched the western part of the Houston region, leaving nearly 5 inches of rain in some spots overnight and there’s a threat of more heavy showers Saturday from Houston to the coast.
Heavy thunderstorms flooded various parts of the Houston area late Friday, including patches of the Interstate 45 feeder road between West Little York and West Parker roads.
As the driver headed southbound on the North Freeway service road just before 10 p.m., she encountered high water.
“She backed up to avoid the flooded road and backed up over the curb on the west side of the street onto private property, which was also flooded,” Silva said.
The driver attempted to steer her green Chevrolet Cavalier south again on the private property and drove partially into a retention pond.
“A witness who was at the scene told her to get out of her car, but she was afraid that she would lose her car,” Silva said. “The car then floated out into the middle of the retention pond and sank – and she was still in her vehicle when it sank.”
The driver, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene, Houston Fire Department Assistant Chief Kevin Alexander said. “The car was turned over.”
Aldine, Jersey Village and the area west of Katy around Beer Creek got the most precipitation Friday, said Matt Moreland, a National Weather Service forecaster based in League City.
“That’s where we saw the heaviest rain, actually 4 to 5 inches,” he said. “Outside of that zone, we saw anywhere from 1 to 3 inches.”
Showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue throughout the day and evening, which could raise or expand floodwaters.
“There’s potential for 1 to 3 inches of rain and maybe a little higher amount through mid- to late afternoon,” Moreland said. “Our concern is that if we have another dose of heavy rain, we’ll have the potential for additional flooding problems.”
The area at greatest risk of heavy rain and high water today stretches from Houston’s south side to Galveston County, Moreland said.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported flight delays of 15 minutes or less at Bush Intercontinental Airport on Saturday morning and no delays at Houston Hobby Airport.
On Sunday, there’s a 40 percent chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms with the highest likelihood for rain in the afternoon and evening.
Plentiful precipitation is the norm this time of year. May and June make up the area’s “wettest period,” Moreland said.
