Heavy rainfall causes isolated flooding
Published 12:26 pm Monday, September 3, 2018
By Ken Stickney
Tropical Storm Gordon may be headed for the Texas and Louisiana Gulf coasts by midweek, but Jefferson and Orange counties got a warm-up with some heavy rainfall Monday morning.
Nation Weather Service forecaster Todd Mogged said late Monday morning that 3 inches of rain fell at Jack Brooks Airport for the 24-hour period ending at 7 a.m. Monday, but rainfall in isolated pockets of Jefferson County fared much worse.
Rain accumulated at more than 7 inches in some parts of southern Beaumont, he said, and 6.4 inches in portions of Port Arthur north of Highway 73.
Mayor Pro Tem Thomas Kinlaw said he had been driving his truck through northern Port Arthur on Monday morning — he represents District 3 — and saw some problem areas, such as Ninth Avenue and Jimmy Johnson, but no major flooding.
“I just passed through,” he said.
But portions of the city — they included service roads alongside Highways 73 and 69 — sustained flooding, with traffic diverted.
“The pumps are working and we expect them to perform,” Kinlaw said.
He said city crews had cleaned out ditches in his district and inspected visually for debris that might affect drainage. He said he hadn’t heard of any specific issues from the city’s public works department.
Rain was expected to continue into early Monday evening and warnings for flash floods continued into mid-afternoon.
The National Weather Service forecast called for certain rain through 5 p.m. About an additional inch or two of rain was expected through the day.
Additional rain was likely during the night, but at lesser amounts.
