More than a half-foot of rain fell on the Houston area during the night, flooding homes and streets and marooning some morning commuters.
One rain gauge on Buffalo Bayou in far western Houston collected more than 6 inches of rain during the night and nearly 9 inches in 24 hours, the Harris County Office of Emergency Management said.
Some school districts in the metropolitan area canceled Tuesday’s classes.
Rising water flowed into some homes.
“We just woke up to a puddle of water,” Cindy Rey said as she and her husband worked to sweep several inches of water out of their home. “I don’t think they mentioned it was going to rain as much as it did. We didn’t expect any flooding.”
Sections of freeways and toll roads were closed, and Assistant Fire Chief Adrian Trevino said some motorists had to be rescued from deep water.
One woman was reported missing, but initial efforts to find her or her car were fruitless.
Rising water on frontage roads marooned about 200 motorists in a parking lot for a couple of hours, authorities said.
The rain followed severe thunderstorms that produced tornadoes Monday, causing damage in Corsicana and near Austin and Victoria.
One tornado damaged 10 buildings in Corsicana, including a school. A teacher dived underneath a table to avoid falling debris, but Corsicana school district spokesman Rob Ludwig said no students were in the room. No injuries were reported. Corsicana is about 50 miles south of Dallas.
Another tornado damaged more than 20 buildings Monday in the Williamson County community of Jonah, including 12 to 15 homes.
