Houstonians with plans to cookout and play corn hole Wednesday afternoon had to find another way to celebrate July 4th after heavy rains soaked the city. Many holiday plans were stunted, including the citywide Freedom over Texas bash at Eleanor Tinsley Park. RAIN NUMBERS: Rainfall totals reach over 7 inches as July 4 storm dampens celebrations Luckily Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Freedom Over Texas organizers made sure that even if Houston didn't get the party on the bayou it was hoping for, it still got the fireworks show it deserved by late Wednesday evening. Houstonians, being the hearty sort they are, made the most of the day by taking to social media and laughing off the soggy Independence Day holiday. What else could some of us do while watching our streets and bayous fill with flood water? Vinyl Ranch on Instagram See how Houstonians reacted to their soggy celebrations on social media in the gallery above. Craig Hlavaty is a reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com.<doc-sep>Made it to I-10 near Washington Avenue. Saw a car swallowed by flood waters underneath the underpass. pic.twitter.com/Wj5h0ZU8NG — Erica Simon (@EricaOnABC13) July 4, 2018 @houstonpolice high water rescue serving impacted areas during today's heavy rain pic.twitter.com/yoFwXvHDYO — Larry J Satterwhite (@SatterwhiteLJ) July 4, 2018 FLOODED FOURTH: Photos of Elanor Tinsley Park where the City of Houston cancelled its Fourth of July celebration. “Houston” letters floating. Big USA flag chair about to float. @abc13houston pic.twitter.com/6lzdSkO8bx — Foti Kallergis (@FotiABC13) July 4, 2018 HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Many Houstonians didn't expect to spend part of their Fourth of July stuck on flooded roads.The storm hit the Houston area on Wednesday morning, submerging several streets and highways. At one point, I-10 at Washington was shut down and drivers were seen turning around on the highway to avoid the high water.Emergency crews and even good Samaritans rescued people who were unable to get out of high water.As of 2 a.m. Thursday, Houston police said they removed and towed 167 vehicles from roadways that flooded.The City of Houston was forced to cancel the Freedom Over Texas festival due to the storm and flooding.The Independence Day flooding brought back bad flashbacks of Hurricane Harvey, but city officials said they were prepared this time around from the lessons they learned from the devastation nearly a year ago. "We have more assets than we did during Harvey, more assets that are readily available, so we had about 12 high-water trucks positioned throughout the city, about 43 boats positioned throughout the city, but we didn't have any calls for rescues," Mayor Sylvester Turner said.<doc-sep>Heavy rains put a damper on the Houston area’s Fourth of July celebrations as early downpours washed out roadways and caused the cancellation of Independence Day festivities before the weather cleared up in time for fireworks to light up the night sky. The weather predictions for Wednesday had called for just a few inches of rain, but by mid-morning the sky had opened up and delivered a record amount of rain for the holiday in Houston, swamping cars and setting nerves on edge. When blue letters from a temporary HOUSTON sign started floating down Buffalo Bayou, it seemed like an ominous symbol. But as the rains started tapering off in the afternoon, and it turned out the storm was not a second coming of Hurricane Harvey or even the Memorial Day or Tax Day floods of recent memory, local officials and residents breathed a collective sigh of relief. “Any time we get a lot of rain there’s a lot of nervousness,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. But this time around, he said, the city was better prepared. Twelve high-water trucks were ready to go, and 43 boats sat in key positions around the city. Houston police towed away more than 60 waterlogged vehicles and fielded at least 125 calls from stranded motorists. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett was less optimistic about the region’s preparedness. “We’ve basically recovered, but if you say, ‘Are we better off?’ or ‘Are we better prepared?’ then no,” he told KPRC early in the day, as he expressed hoped the storm would move on instead of stalling over the region. The Harris County Sheriff's Office reported Wednesday night that it had pulled the body of a 19-year-old man from the San Jacinto River in northeast Houston. It was not clear if the death was related to the flooding. The bad weather arrived courtesy of a weak disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico, moving east to west across the metro area, according to meteorologists. Forecasters initially predicted rainfall totals from 1 to 3 inches. But by noon, most parts of the city had already seen more than 3 inches. Some areas saw more than 7 inches in a few hours. Melissa Huffman, a local meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the 6 inches of rain recorded at Hobby Airport broke the previous record for the holiday: 3.04 inches on July 4, 1942. It may have rained on the Lindale Park neighborhood’s annual parade, but residents turned out anyway, doing what they could to stay dry. Veronica Casanova trekked all the way down from Humble for the event and said she was pleased that organizers decided not to cancel. “We come down to Lindale Park because they put on a good parade,” Casanova said. “We have friends who have lived here for 30 years, and we always enjoy it.” After the rains ended in Spring, residents of one neighborhood gathered under awnings to eat barbecue, watch their kids play and listen to ranchera music. The still-threatening skies didn’t deter them from enjoying the holiday. Although the storm stalled a little over the city, officials agree it could have been worse. “There’s no question that we’ve got to make improvements,” Emmett told the Houston Chronicle later Wednesday, pointing to the rainstorm as proof of the need for county voters to approve a $2.5 billion flood bond proposal in the Aug. 28 vote. While staffing levels for emergency responders and Transtar are about the same as last summer, he said, some local infrastructure may be even more vulnerable as the damage from Harvey’s catastrophic flooding — some areas got up to 51 inches of rain — hasn’t fully been repaired yet. Last year’s historic flooding stemmed in part from overflowing bayous and dam releases, but Wednesday’s waterlog came from pooling in streets and lots. Cars flooded, Interstate 10 was shut down for hours, and a smattering of parades and other gatherings were called off. Sandra Ricks of Cypress stood on the banks of a swollen White Oak Bayou and marveled as a refrigerator floated under Heights Boulevard. On Wednesday morning, she fretted while driving her husband to Hobby Airport after finding several roads closed due to flooding. “He was concerned about me driving back alone because of the water on the road,” Ricks said. Later, she navigated Houston’s west side through the flooded Galleria area, which she wanted to show two friends visiting from Kentucky — an apt introduction to a city that frequently finds itself underwater. Floating appliances notwithstanding, the rumbling thunderstorms weren’t quite enough to beat out the booms of fireworks in the Bayou City. Though city officials — for the first time ever — called off most of the annual Freedom Over Texas festivities, they did not cancel the fireworks show. Beginning at 9:35 p.m., fireworks exploded for 20 minutes against the backdrop of the downtown skyline. “Unfortunately, the weather situation did not go as predicted,” Susan Christian, the city’s director of special events, said before the show. “We’ve taken on a lot rain on the site, so much so that it’s compromised the site. And while we were prepared to do one heck of a show, unfortunately we will cancel all but the fireworks.” Much of Harris County remained under a flash flood watch until 9 p.m. — half an hour before the fireworks were to start. As the sun broke through the clouds in Highland Village late in the day, Tia Markel made her way to Central Market in an attempt to salvage what was left of her annual Independence Day barbecue. “We have it every year,” she said. She couldn’t remember a time when her extended family failed to gather for the Fourth of July, but by noon most of her relatives in Katy had expressed concern about making the trip into town. Ever since Harvey, they’ve been wary. “A lot of them lost their cars, and my mom lost a whole lot more,” Markel said. “They didn’t want to risk it.” For the most part, she said, her street remained clear and her street-parked car was fine. “Hopefully I can convince them to come to dinner,” she said. Zach Despart, Marialuisa Rincon and Mark Gladstone contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
Houston was under siege and under water Wednesday as storms drenched the region with up to eight inches of rain. More storms were forecast Wednesday night, and authorities canceled the Freedom Over Texas concerts because of the weather. Mayor Sylvester Turner warned residents that flooding was rampant throughout the city. "Do not put yourself in a position that will put yourself and others in danger," he said on Twitter. Authorities are wary about storms after the damage wrought by Hurricane Harvey, which blasted Texas, Louisiana, Florida and other states in the region in August. That storm, one of the worst on record, caused more than $100 billion in damages. "Today’s event gave us a trial run to be prepared," Turner said. "Our operations have been a lot smoother, and we still have some fine tuning to do." Dave Samuhel, senior meteorologistat AccuWeather, said some areas near downtown Houston were hit with 4-6 inches of rain, with one or two spots registering 8 inches. "It was very intense earlier, with some areas seeing three or four inches of rain in an hour," he said. The city's main fireworks show will go on as planned. But no one is allowed on site, meaning fans must watch the fireworks from home or nearby neighborhoods. Turner said he was a "kid at heart" and rarely will sign off on canceling fireworks. "The show allows us to pay homage to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so we can enjoy the freedoms we cherish everyday," he said. Harvey also brought infamy to little Nederland, Texas, near the Louisiana border when one location near the town of about 20,000 was walloped with 60.58 inches of rain. That broke the record for the greatest rainfall amount ever recorded in the Lower 48 from a single storm, WeatherBug reported.