Deadly flash floods kill 13 in San Antonio and at least 3 in West Virginia

Flash floods hit the San Antonio area late last week, leaving 13 dead, the San Antonio Fire Department confirmed over the weekend.

The flooding arrived in the San Antonio area on Thursday, when a record 6.11 inches of rain fell, including about 4 inches that fell in a single hour early Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

On Saturday, the fire department released the names of most those killed, Texas Public Radio reported.

The fire department said it responded to more than 70 water rescues, according to TPR. The fire department did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for information about rescues.

“Over the last couple of years, we’ve been dealing with a drought,” Mack Morris, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said to NPR on Sunday. “So we haven’t had a lot of flash flooding occur over the last three to five years, at least not anything nearly as significant as what occurred on Thursday.”

Other regions in Texas witnessed high rainfall on Thursday, largely due to thunderstorms in southern Texas.

Storms in Appalachia also contributed to at least three deaths in West Virginia over the weekend. The state’s Wheeling-Ohio County emergency management agency said more people were reported missing.

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency for Ohio County. He said on Sunday that roughly 3 to 4 inches of rain fell in less than an hour in some areas, and there was flash flooding in the city of Wheeling and towns of Triadelphia and Valley Grove.

More storms are predicted across the U.S.

Parts of Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas could see severe thunderstorms with large hail and critical gusts of wind, some being over 75 miles per hour, according to the NWS.

Virginia, North Carolina and several states in the central and southern Plains could also see “strong to severe thunderstorms,” according to the NWS.

Meanwhile, the mid-Atlantic was in store for “excessive rainfall” through Monday morning.

 

Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones announces run for Alabama governor

Jones announced his campaign Monday afternoon, hours after filing campaign paperwork with the Secretary of State's Office. His gubernatorial bid could set up a rematch with U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican who defeated Jones in 2020 and is now running for governor. 

Scorching Saturdays: The rising heat threat inside football stadiums

Excessive heat and more frequent medical incidents in Southern college football stadiums could be a warning sign for universities across the country.

The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring an Audio Editor

The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring an Audio Editor to join our award-winning team covering important regional stories across Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.

Judge orders new Alabama Senate map after ruling found racial gerrymandering

U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco, appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, issued the ruling Monday putting a new court-selected map in place for the 2026 and 2030 elections.

Construction on Meta’s largest data center brings 600% crash spike, chaos to rural Louisiana

An investigation from the Gulf States Newsroom found that trucks contracted to work at the Meta facility are causing delays and dangerous roads in Holly Ridge.

Bessemer City Council approves rezoning for a massive data center, dividing a community

After the Bessemer City Council voted 5-2 to rezone nearly 700 acres of agricultural land for the “hyperscale” server farm, a dissenting council member said city officials who signed non-disclosure agreements weren’t being transparent with citizens.

More Front Page Coverage