Heavy rains keep drenching South Texas, tornado reported in San Antonio

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UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Slow-moving storms drenched much of southern Texas with more heavy rain on Wednesday, prompting warnings to evacuate flooded areas after downpours washed out roads and farmland and led to dozens of high-water rescues across the region.

The National Weather Service said a tornado touched down in the northwestern part of San Antonio near Interstate 10. Videos posted on social media showed what appeared to be a small twister. Local officials said apartment buildings and other properties were damaged.

Warnings of potentially dangerous flash flooding were in effect for some areas as the deluge was forecast to continue through Thursday evening, and authorities urged people to evacuate rather than be marooned by high water in Uvalde County and the city of Boerne, outside San Antonio. In Kerr County, where catastrophic flooding last year killed more than 100 people, officials were in contact with summer camps and retreat centers near rising rivers.

As much as 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of rain was possible in some places before the storms move out, the weather service said.

There have been no reports of deaths or injuries from the tornado or the flooding.

The highest rainfall totals so far — up to 16 inches (40 centimeters) — have been in Uvalde County, where officials tallied 25 rescues as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, and said more people needed help as river levels rose. Highways and roads were closed across the region because of high water.

State Rep. Don McLaughlin said that despite a “little lull,” the rainfall wasn’t done and waterways could become more dangerous. “The rivers and the creeks are going to be coming up, and they’re going to be coming up again with a vengeance,” McLaughlin said.

Frances McNamara and her 10-year-old son, Everett, watched the bloated Leona River in Uvalde sweep southward Wednesday as she considered possible evacuation routes. She pointed to a solid line of dirt, branches and twigs about 8 feet (2 meters) above the river where the water reached the day before.

“We’ve seen the water rise, but not to this extent,” she said, describing how it rushed through a ditch next to her home with enough force to sound like a river on Tuesday.

This week's severe weather brought back memories of last year's deadly flooding in Texas Hill Country.

“It scared me,” said McNamara, her eyes wet with tears as she recalled the 2025 floods. “Cause I have a son, and to know what those parents went through.” Her son reached up and patted her back.

Around mid-day Wednesday, Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco asked people living near flooded areas to evacuate voluntarily. No mandatory evacuation orders had been issued, but his social media post urged residents to prepare to leave as the rain continues.

Lightning flashed as clouds darkened the landscape Wednesday across Uvalde, where the typically calm Leona River poured over low bridges. The riverbanks were strewn with debris, including branches and grass, plastic bags and a cactus, from a day earlier when the river was several feet higher.

The night had brought booming thunder through a steady rain, swelling the rivers and creeks that ran through or just around the town. The rain would abate, then pummel the small town with heavy drops, before lifting again.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties.

Authorities posted videos on Tuesday showing a rescue crew in a boat navigating flooded streets and a vehicle being swept away by fast-moving waters. Five people were rescued by the Texas Game Warden Search and Rescue Team and four were rescued by a local game warden, said Maggie Berger, a Texas Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman.

Forecasters warned that hilly terrain in other parts of the region could be especially vulnerable to heavy rain.

The highest level of concern for potentially dangerous flooding Wednesday was for areas west of San Antonio and north of Route 90, Weather service meteorologist Monte Oaks said.

In Boerne, a city of about 24,000 northwest of San Antonio, residents of several areas were told by officials to either evacuate voluntarily or prepare to shelter in place as waters rose. City spokesperson Chris Shadrock said in a video post on Facebook that high-water rescues were ongoing and that the city’s busiest intersection was “completely underwater.”

“This is a life-threatening weather event, I don’t want to mince words about how serious this situation is,” Shadrock said.

He said the water was rising even in areas that don’t usually flood.

Oaks said the rain is being fueled with tropical moisture, mostly from the Gulf of Mexico and some from the Pacific Ocean.

“This is called a typical mid-summer tropical weather pattern that happens in Texas,” said Oaks. “About once every five years, we’ll get socked in with a daily recurrence of heavy rain chances that’s generally produced by a stagnant kind of a pattern with a low-pressure center that’s just not moving very fast.”

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Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.