Flooding

5 to 8 inches of rain floods US 281 near Alice, Texas; more rain Monday

By Ryan Hall, Y'all Weather Desk · Published November 9, 2026, 12:17 PM ET

Written by our automated news desk from National Weather Service data.

Water poured across US 281 near Alice, Texas, on Sunday morning, and an SUV and a pickup ended up stuck in it. Five to 8 inches of rain had fallen by Sunday afternoon, and parts of South Texas are still under a Level 2 of 4 (Slight Risk) for flash flooding today, Monday, before the rain winds down.

What happened on US 281 near Alice

Erica Rodriguez shared a photo from US 281 near Alice at about 10 AM Central Sunday. It shows water rushing across the highway, an SUV and a pickup stuck in it, and a Civic pushing through. Emergency lights show up beyond the water. No injuries were mentioned in her post or the comments.

A Flash Flood Warning covered Duval, Jim Wells and Kleberg counties from just before 8 AM to 1:15 PM Central Sunday. By the afternoon, a second warning noted that 5 to 8 inches of rain had already fallen. TxDOT also closed US 281 north of Falfurrias on Sunday. We don't have an update on whether that closure is still in place, so check current road conditions before you head out.

Why the water is still a problem Monday

Repeated clusters of heavy rain have been moving up out of Mexico and across South Texas, and the ground is already saturated. Soil moisture across the region sits above the 95th percentile, increasing the flash flood threat from additional rain.

Our flash flood outlook has Level 2 of 4 for parts of South Texas today. The focus is a narrow band south and southwest of Corpus Christi down toward Brownsville. A Level 1 of 4 area stretches northwest along I-10 into the Texas Hill Country.

A few things are active right now:

• A Flood Advisory for southeastern Cameron County, near Brownsville, until 1:30 PM Central.
• A Flood Advisory for small stream flooding in Bandera County, in the Hill Country, until 4 PM Central.
• A Coastal Flood Advisory for minor flooding in Aransas, Kleberg, Nueces, San Patricio, Refugio and Calhoun counties, until 3 AM Central Tuesday.

You can see every active alert on our warnings page.

When it gets better

The storm fuel is slowly running out, so the heavy rain should fade through the afternoon and evening. The risk window runs until about 6 AM Central Tuesday, but the best chance for flash flooding is this morning into the early afternoon. Tuesday and Wednesday have no flash flood risk outlined. This part of the forecast is fairly well lined up. Exactly where the last heavy cells set up today is the part that can still shift.

What to do

• Don't drive through water over the road. It's hard to tell how deep it is or whether the pavement under it is still there, and the vehicles in Sunday's photo show how fast it goes wrong.
• If you're heading toward Alice, Corpus Christi, Falfurrias or the Rio Grande Valley, check road status before you leave and have a backup route.
• Watch low spots, creeks and underpasses, especially through early afternoon Central.
• Turn on Y'all Alerts so warnings reach your phone when you're not looking at the radar.

Bottom line

Sunday's flooding on US 281 near Alice came from 5 to 8 inches of rain on ground that was already saturated. Today is the last day with a flash flood risk, so give water over the road a wide berth until the rain clears.

Explained: Flood Advisory, Watch, Warning and Flash Flood Warning explained, What the flash flood risk levels mean, from Level 1 to Level 4

More on Texas flooding, November 2026

https://ryanhallyall.com/news/5-to-8-inches-of-rain-floods-us-281-near-alice-texas-more-rain-monday