When the Smiths left for the airport, ominous thunderstorms loomed in the distance. Minutes later, a roaring deluge quickly became life-threatening. “It’s hard to grasp that floodwaters can rise in minutes, but I witnessed it and it’s terrifying,” says one of the travelers. “The opposite side of an eight-lane highway rapidly filled to the top of the concrete barrier and began overflowing as we watched, stuck in traffic.”
The Smiths, says Bob Hillier, Owner of Paul Davis Restoration of Greater Houston, Texas, might have guessed their trip would be perilous, given recent scary trends. “Flash flooding is increasing across the country at a record-breaking pace,” Hillier says. “The National Weather Service announced that 2025 is on pace to double the average number of flash flood warnings typically issued in a year.”
Know the top six warning signs of flash flooding, Hillier urges. Here’s how the Smiths encountered each one before and during their frightening car trip.
- Severe weather reports and warnings: Forecasters cautioned frequently, starting days before the event, of the dangerous front predicted to cross the area. Additionally, the family’s airline contacted them the day before departure, waiving change fees due to pending severe weather. As they drove, cellphones sounded repeatedly with flash flood warnings.
- Very heavy rain: Rain fell so hard that wipers set on high failed to clear the Smiths’ windshield. Fellow drivers pulled over or drove very slowly with hazard lights flashing. Visibility was low.
- Water moving with great volume and force: The Smiths saw “rivers” of water flowing along both shoulders of the highway. Rock walls in a highway cut had sprouted multiple gushing waterfalls that poured onto the pavement. Inches of water ran across a federal highway that had been designed to manage heavy precipitation.
- Rising water levels: Streams they passed had become roaring torrents topping their banks.
- Debris in rivers and streams: Waterways were brown and turbulent. They carried large branches and other debris as they rushed by.
- Evident damage from floodwater: The water’s force and volume were rapidly undercutting banks and swamping surrounding land. Highway shoulders had begun eroding.
The Smiths’ close encounter had a happy ending. “At the bottom of one highway section, a foot of water flowed across the pavement. Some foolhardy SUV owners were plowing through,” Hillier reports. “But the Smiths exited the highway and went home. They remembered this lifesaving adage: Turn Around, Don’t Drown.”
Do you need help with damage caused by flash flooding? Paul Davis Restoration promises to arrive within a few hours of your call.
