HOUSTON — There's a saying you'll hear meteorologists explicitly repeating during heavy rain events. That saying is 'Turn Around, Don't Drown', and remembering that could save your life in a flash flooding event.
Typically flooding events are brought on by slow-moving thunderstorms or storm systems that produce immense amounts of rainfall over a short period of time.
It's surprising to learn that all it takes is 6" of fast-moving water to sweep you off your feet.
In your vehicle, only a foot of fast-moving water to lift and move your sedan. In a truck, well that only takes 18"-24" of fast-moving water to lift.
That amount of water can build up at an astonishingly fast pace, some would say in a flash. There you have a flash flood emergency.
Always listen for weather alerts on impending inclement weather. For flooding events that may first come as a 'watch' this means that conditions are favorable to produce flooding rains in a short amount of time. When flooding is already occurring and observed, a 'warning' will be issued. This is the time you need to take action and seek higher ground and stay off the roadways in the warned areas.