Strong winds, heavy rain from overnight storms lead to rough morning for people all over town

Drivers ran into highwater, homeowners dealt with damage

SAN ANTONIO – Strong winds and heavy rain that swept through the region overnight created troubling conditions for people when they woke up Friday morning.

The winds tossed items, such as trash cans across neighborhoods, knocked down street signs and backyard fences, and toppled entire trees.

RELATED: Massive tree ripped from its roots, topples over during storm on far West Side

In one area on the Far West Side outside Loop 1604 near Culebra Road, the damage was apparent in the many broken branches that littered neighborhood streets.

The wind tore down a huge stretch of someone's backyard fence. (KSAT 12 News)

A few homes were left missing huge sections of wooden fences.

In one case, though, Lady Luck seemed to smile of the owner of an SUV in a parking lot.

A tree toppled over toward the parked vehicle, making it look from a distance that it had caused major damage.

An uprooted tree appeared to fall on an SUV in a parking lot near Culebra Road and Lone Star Parkway. However, it apparently fell just right and avoided any major damage. (KSAT 12 News)

However, upon closer inspection, it became clear that the tree landed in such a way that it left the Ford Bronco with barely a scratch.

A close-up view showed the damage to the SUV was minimal. (KSAT 12 News)

Other drivers, meanwhile, lost their cars to rushing water.

Firefighters were scrambling throughout the morning to rescue drivers who crossed into water that was too much for their cars to handle.

In one case, on W. Commerce near Pinn Road, a worker who happened to be driving a bucket truck helped to pluck a woman from the roof of her submerged car before firefighters arrived, according to San Antonio police.

Officers said they then took the woman into custody on an unrelated matter.

Soon after her rescue, KSAT 12 News cameras caught several other drivers going past barricades in that same area, only to be stopped by police.

At the height of the storm, San Antonio firefighters made 23 high-water rescues, according to a public information officer.

There were no reports of any injuries related to the high water or storm damage.


About the Authors

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.

Santiago Esparza is a photojournalist at KSAT 12.

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