Flash Flood — El Paso, Texas

2014-09-22 · near Tobin, El Paso, Texas

Event narrative

Very heavy rain occurred over northeast and central El Paso with over 5 inches of rain reported in about 4 hours. Several water rescues were reported including at the intersection of Alcan and Fairbanks. Another water rescue was attempted at Vulcan and Diana but resulted in a fatality of a 64 year old woman.

Interstate 10 West at the Cotton exit ramp was closed, Dyer Street between Diana and Manila was closed as well as Scenic Drive due to flooding.

Wider weather episode

High pressure building over the western plains sent the remnant moisture of Hurricane Odile, which had passed over the region a few days earlier, back into far west Texas. A weak upper trough was moving into the southwestern U.S. and easterly upslope flow aided in providing lift to El Paso County. A maximum of 6.50 inches of rain fell in the northeast side of El Paso. One death was attributed to the flash flooding in northeast El Paso.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.9045, -106.4740)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 542913. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.