El Paso, Texas Flash Flooding Kills One; Cars Washed Away, Water Rescues

By Jon Erdman
Published: September 22,2014


 
Flash flood warnings were reissued Monday afternoon as a new round of heavy thunderstorms developed over the El Paso, Texas, metropolitan area, where flash floods earlier in the day turned deadly. By Monday night, numerous roads were flooded in the Las Cruces area.
Earlier Monday, a cluster of heavy rain parked over the north side of El Paso and triggered deadly flash flooding. 64-year-old Consance Manzanares drowned Monday after her car was trapped in a canal by flood waters, KVIA reports.
At least two water rescues were performed, according to the El Paso Times. Portions of Hondo Pass, Railroad Drive, and Fairbanks Drive were impassable. Rocks and other debris littered parts of Fairbanks Drive with water reaching up to the wheel wells of at least one vehicle, according to KFOX-TV.  Floodwaters reached the front entrance of El Paso Community College.
A National Weather Service employee measured 5.37 inches of rain in just over four hours over a part of the northeast El Paso metro northwest of Biggs Army Airfield. Incredibly, just about five miles away, El Paso International Airport only picked up around one-quarter inch of rain Monday morning.
This is roughly equal to the city's combined average rainfall from July through September (5.07 inches).
(FORECAST: El Paso, Texas)
New thunderstorms developed over the Franklin Mountains in El Paso, just northwest of downtown, Monday afternoon. The storms prompted the National Weather Service to issue new flash flood warnings at 3 p.m. MDT for parts of El Paso County as well as sections of Dona Ana and Otero counties just over the state line in New Mexico. The warnings were scheduled to expire at 7 p.m.
Flooding also hit Las Cruces, New Mexico, Monday afternoon. Numerous streets were reported flooded, including this one:

Juarez: Flooding Across The Border

Flooding also occurred across the international border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Local news website Juarez Noticias said a school was surrounded by floodwaters Monday afternoon, trapping students inside. Police responded to the scene after neighbors complained.

Stormy Month for El Paso

Just five days prior to this event, flooding shut down a stretch of Interstate 10 near Piedras Street. The El Paso Fire Department rescued three stranded motorists that evening.
El Paso International Airport picked up 3.02 inches of rain from Sept. 15-18. More than half of that rain total fell on the evening of Sept. 17 alone.
Here are some more photos of the West Texas flooding Monday via social media.