Texas Storms: Houston, Austin, Dallas Hit by Heavy Rain, Flood Warning in Place

Drought-stricken Texas has received a record amount of rainfall after severe storms hit Houston, Austin and Dallas on Wednesday.

Roads have been flooded with parts of Austin recording 5 inches of rainfall, the Associated Press reported. The San Antonio Fire Department made 14 rescues, pulling people out of their cars. High gusts of wind accompanied the rainfall, spawning several isolated tornadoes across the state.

The National Weather Service is investigating at least six tornado reports. One tornado touched down in northeast Austin, according to Chris Morris, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New Braunfels. Another was reported in northwest San Antonio, the AP reported.

Flood warnings have been issued by the NOAA in the Brazos river area around New Dennis, which is affecting Parker County.

Do not drive cars through the flooded areas. Caution is urged when walking near the river banks and stay turn to NOAA All Hazards Radio for the latest river forecasts, the NOAA said in a statement.

The river is expected to rise above flood stage by late Thursday afternoon and continue to rise into the evening. The NOAA predicts an increase of up to 21 feet.

While the weather conditions have caused damage to some properties and cars, the rainfall is being received as a blessing in some areas of Texas.

It's really nice to see some of the cows in the county have water after all these months, Robert Smith, Washington county's emergency management coordinator told the AP. I think the cows are doing a jig.

Washington County and much of the Lone Star State have barely seen rain in a year, posing great problems for local agriculture. The rainfall has given some farmers hope of being rescued from the period of drought.

Certainly, it's not a drought-buster. We have a long way to go to dig out of a big hole, Clay Anderson, a meteorologist with the NOAA, told the AP.

Victor Murphy, another meteorologist for the NOAA told the AP that if the rain continued at this rate, it could pull parts of Dallas and Fort Worth out of drought, although it is too early to make such a predicition at this juncture.