Imelda Breaks Rainfall Records; Flash Flood Watch Still In Effect

HOUSTON, TX — Several rainfall records were broken in the Houston region on Thursday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda battered the area, causing devastating flooding that killed at least two people and a third death that was potentially storm-related was reported on Friday.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said a man was found dead in a ditch on Friday in the 400 block of W. Mount Houston. The man was seen walking in the area of the storm on Thursday but the cause and manner of death has not been determined, according to Gonzalez.

The National Weather Service said the city of Houston recorded 9.21 inches of rain on Thursday, which was the wettest calendar day for the month of September in the city's history. Galveston recorded 17.77 inches of rain over the past four days and 17.83 inches for the entire month of September, making it the fifth wettest September in the ciy's history, according to the NWS.

Preliminary rainfall totals of 43.15 inches were reported in Jefferson County, which the National Weather Service said would make Imelda the seventh wettest tropical cyclone in U.S. history and the fourth wettest tropical cyclone to impact Texas.

While weather conditions have improved, a flash flood watch is still in effect until 7 p.m. for parts of southeast Texas. According to weather officials, Imelda's remnants should continue to drift slowly northeast Friday morning. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible east of I-45 Friday morning and the chance for precipitation shifts west of I-45 by the afternoon.

"Given the very saturated grounds and watersheds, it would not take much rain to exacerbate these conditions once again," weather officials wrote in a forecast.

The severe weather from Thursday was still creating havoc across the region. Two barges broke loose and struck the I-10 San Jacinto River Bridge near Channelview on Friday, shutting down I-10. Harris County Sheriff's officials said that while the number of weather-related calls had gone down, some community members were still in need.

More than 900 flights were canceled or delayed in Houston on Thursday. Further along the Texas Gulf Coast, authorities at one point warned that a levee could break near Beaumont in Jefferson County. During Harvey, Beaumont's only pump station was swamped by floodwaters, leaving residents without water service for more than a week.

Cory Stottlemyer, spokesman for Houston's Office of Emergency Management, said floodwaters in the city Friday were receding and that fewer 911 calls were being made. But even as the intensity of the storm weakened, Harris County officials warned that some of their 4.7 million residents might not see high waters recede in their neighborhoods until the weekend.

Reporting and writing from The Associated Press was used in this report.