Heavy rain overloads Harris County’s creeks

Parts of northwest Harris County were hardest hit from the latest round of thunderstorms with some creeks overflowing and streets flooding.

Officials with the Harris County Flood Control District said the area was hit with about 7 inches of rain by early Thursday compared to 2 to 4 inches for the rest of the county.

The flat prairie terrain in parts of northwest Harris County has a role to play.

“They have a lot more open space,” said Kim Jackson, flood control district spokeswoman. “It tends to drain much more slowly.”

Jackson said there were no reports of any loss of life or house flooding from the thunderstorms that battered the area.

“We received a couple of calls mainly from people concerned about water on the roadways,” she said.

The roads that flooded were generally near overflowing creeks — Little Cypress Creek at Becker Road , Spring Creek at Hegar and Mayde Creek near Greenhouse.

“They are draining and they are moving the water out,” Jackson said.

Officials hope a temporary respite from the storms will mean some of the flood waters may drain away before any additional rains.

“We will have more capacity in the bayous and creeks to get the runoff out,” Jackson said.

In Montgomery County, emergency crews were watching Peace Creek, which had risen above flood stage near Splendora and was expected to crest at nearly 17 feet by midnight Friday.

“We’ve been pelted with bands of rain. But it may be leveling off now. The sun is starting to peek out,” said Ronnie Silvio with the Montgomery County Sheriff ’s Office.