10Weather Impact Recap (7/22)

[00:00:03][music] >> Hey there everyone. I'm meteorologist Cassie Knoll and this is your 10 weather impact recap for the week. Let's start with a look at some of the top weather stories from around the country. For the second year in a row, an area in Texas known as Hill Country experienced catastrophic flooding. Torrential downpours brought more than a year's worth of rain to parts of the region last week and now residents of Kerrville are beginning to clean up. Troy Klass shares their story.

[00:00:38]>> In northern Kerrville along Goat Creek Road, water is receding and so is the stress felt by Gina Rudolph.

[00:00:45]>> Well, I'm doing better today.

[00:00:48]Yesterday I was in tears all day, but today I'm doing better.

[00:00:51]>> Just you want dogs?

[00:00:54]>> Nope, not at all.

[00:00:55]Walking through her home which took on 4 in of water, mud coats the floor that they're now cleaning up. Gina's husband John recalls the moment he saw the water rising.

[00:01:06]>> I looked at it about 2:30 and it was up to the tree line on this side.

[00:01:10]And by the time I got family and the dogs out, I got them all out.

[00:01:23]>> You can see the water on Goat Creek overpowered a literal cannon sweeping away everything in its path. Back on the Guadalupe River, multiple heavy vehicles flooded. River sentry poles deployed after the 2025 Hill Country floods alerted nearby residents of rising water, but John Rudolph says he and his neighbors along the creek did not have the same defense.

[00:01:46]>> Well, we had the um the uh the sound warning over the phones, but they don't tell you specific. They tell you the Guadalupe.

[00:01:58]>> Now his time is spent cleaning up the water and preparing to live in his trailer.

[00:02:03]>> Just the uh the adrenaline was working and now uh now it's just the stress.

[00:02:09]>> The Rudolph's feeling the stress, but much like the water in the creek, she and their neighbors must continue moving.

[00:02:15]>> We're just all still in shock, I think.

[00:02:20]>> Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a major disaster declaration that has been approved by President Trump. This will allow the state to receive federal disaster assistance. Two people died during last week's flood event and hundreds were rescued from rising water.

[00:02:33]Governor Abbott says that last year's tragic flooding in July of 2025 provided lessons that may have helped save lives this year.

[00:02:42]>> Because of everything that was learned and experienced in the flood last year, everybody in Texas has been far more prepared to deal with what has happened this year.

[00:02:54]>> Officials credit recently installed flood warning sirens with providing critical alerts to people living and camping along the Guadalupe River.

[00:03:01]Rising water triggered the sensors on those posts causing the sirens to activate. This gave people near the river a chance to move to higher ground before floodwaters reached homes and campsites.

[00:03:12]In Colorado, heavy rain caused three major mudslides in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park trapping 21 visitors. Mud and boulders blocked a roadway, but responders were eventually able to get through and reach the campers. No significant injuries were reported. Officials with the Park Service say the road, campground, and picnic site will remain shut down until debris can be removed and repair work can be completed.

[00:03:36]And in Utah, the first week of monsoon season has been eventful, helping calm some of the state's largest fires in nearly a decade, but also causing flooding. With more rain on the way, people living near burn scars are paying extra attention. The barren landscape left behind after wildfires can act like runways for debris and mudflows to come rushing down hill sides. Carter Williams shares how one community is preparing for the possibility of flash flooding.

[00:04:02]>> With storms in the forecast, residents near Cottonwood Canyon are watching closely. Even a half inch of rain could create problems.

[00:04:10]>> Our entire watershed for the Beaver River and North Creek area has been impacted and so it comes right out of the mouth of the canyon right through town. Like there's no buffer anywhere.

[00:04:22]>> Beaver County Commissioner Tami Pearson says reservoirs and diversion systems are in place, but concerns remain that heavy rain could send debris rushing downstream. People that live nearby had a short time to prepare.

[00:04:35]>> Probably got over 200 people that are property owners that were able to get in and do some stuff before the rains. And now it's just too it's just too dangerous.

[00:04:44]>> With significant rain coming every afternoon the next few days and with the burn scars, there's nothing holding the water back, says Pearson.

[00:04:51]>> Anybody that's anywhere near a burn scar, just keep an eye to the sky and make sure that you've got an escape route or or some higher ground that you can get to.

[00:05:00]>> Pearson says county leaders worked with the governor's office, UDot, and state officials to get several cameras placed throughout the canyon.

[00:05:08]>> That'll kind of be our early warning system. So if we got a wall of water coming down on us, we'll have maybe 30 minutes notice.

[00:05:14]>> Residents who lost everything in the fire are now preparing for more devastation.

[00:05:20]>> I keep [clears throat] reminding them, you know, our biggest win on that mountain is nobody died.

[00:05:26]And that's my biggest goal right now is that nobody dies in this flood either.

[00:05:30]>> Thousands have helped filling sandbags along the way and that gives hope to those nearby.

[00:05:36]>> Everybody's pitching in and helping.

[00:05:38]It's been an incredible effort and we're just hoping that that's what saves lives.

[00:05:44]>> And we've been dealing with our own flooding issues here in East Tennessee.

[00:05:47]But, the heavy rain did more than flood the roads. It exposed challenges of Knoxville's aging stormwater system underground. Now, city leaders are looking to find the weakest points in the system before the next heavy rain event does. Alana Mutech shares how a recent city assessment is shaping future repairs.

[00:06:05]>> Knoxville City Council is moving forward with a new contract to figure out next steps for the city's stormwater system.

[00:06:11]The first-ever inventory assessment of all the drains and the pipes in the area found nearly 20% of the system failed inspection.

[00:06:21]When streets flood, the problem isn't always just the rain.

[00:06:24]>> It's corrugated metal pipe that was installed 30 to 40 years ago.

[00:06:27]>> David McGinley, Knoxville's stormwater engineering chief, says many of those aging pipes are reaching the end of their lifespan.

[00:06:34]>> The bottoms are rusting out, so either we need to go in and line it fairly quickly before the pipes start failing.

[00:06:39]Otherwise, we'll have to dig and replace, and that's a greater impact to traffic, and it's a much greater cost as well.

[00:06:46]>> There's actually a storm drain right here that I installed.

[00:06:49]>> For South Knoxville business owner Bobby Smelser, he's already dealing with the cost of rain.

[00:06:54]>> I have owned this property since '94.

[00:06:57]When there's not construction, it's like a a river that rose down Riegel Avenue.

[00:07:04]>> City engineers say the recent storm sent a surge of water through a system already showing its age.

[00:07:10]>> Some of the pipe in the that Broadway and Central area, it was all installed probably in the 19 early 1900s.

[00:07:18]Uh so, 100 to 125 years old.

[00:07:20]>> Those pipes leaving Smelser to create his own barrier against the flow.

[00:07:24]>> The amount of water is astronomical. If I myself did not take it on the responsibility to slow the water down, the center of my property would have been washed away years ago.

[00:07:36]>> The new contract will evaluate where the most pressing needs are in the city and will also recommend where that money should go in the future. That contract should be completed in the next 6 months to a year. In Knoxville, I'm Alana Mic Neck.

[00:07:50]>> Wildfire smoke from large fires burning in Canada has been blanketing cities across the US in haze. The situation has created unhealthy air quality for more than 100 million people in the Midwest, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic, and even forced the cancellations of some outdoor events.

[00:08:06]While the winds shifted and air quality briefly improved earlier this week in the lower 48, dangerous conditions continue over the border in Canada.

[00:08:14]Raging wildfires in Northern Ontario are causing concern for neighbors downwind who are finding it hard to breathe both outside and indoors. Deonna Johnson shares the story.

[00:08:27]>> Smoky, polluted air from the raging Northern Ontario wildfires is giving this mom cause for concern. Her 6-year-old's asthma landed him in hospital 3 years ago, so this week she had to make sure he stayed inside at summer camp.

[00:08:41]>> You're kind of wondering, what does he understand about his condition? We don't want him to feel left out, but we need him to understand how serious his condition is and that we're doing this out of love for him.

[00:08:52]>> She said the Ottawa area camp was happy to accommodate him, but for some even staying inside isn't safe. Poor air quality is impacting people in areas across the province like Toronto, Thunder Bay, and Windsor.

[00:09:05]A Toronto daycare had to shut its doors on Thursday due to poor indoor air quality.

[00:09:10]>> When I went into our preschool room, it was very heavy with the smoke and we had the air conditioning was running for about half an hour, but it didn't seem to be doing anything.

[00:09:23]>> For those who have to venture out, respirator and anti-particulate masks are a hot commodity.

[00:09:28]>> The masks are really flying off the shelves. Uh, we've had a lot of folks come in looking for either KN95s or some sort of alternatives to make sure that when they're out running groceries that they can feel safe.

[00:09:38]>> Also in demand, air purifiers. This store is down to its last one.

[00:09:43]The short and long-term effects of breathing in smoky air are many, says this doctor.

[00:09:48]>> smoke, you can feel it in your throat.

[00:09:49]You might feel a bit of a headache, feel unwell that day. And if you have underlying conditions like heart disease or lung disease, you could notice yourself having more trouble breathing.

[00:09:58]You could actually have an asthma attack, even a heart attack or stroke.

[00:10:03]>> In South Florida, a new fire in the Everglades has burned more than a thousand acres and is creating smoky conditions across portions of the Sunshine State. Drought conditions continue across the area after lackluster rainfall so far this year.

[00:10:15]Steve Mogary has the latest from Broward County.

[00:10:19]>> Michelle Reed is visiting from Scotland.

[00:10:21]A fire wasn't on the itinerary.

[00:10:23]>> 100% happy that I am heading in the other direction.

[00:10:26]>> Drone four shows the flames visible before the sun came up. And daytime chopper four footage shows just how much land they have consumed.

[00:10:33]Reed says she is heading south to the Keys and away from all this.

[00:10:37]>> I've never been near or involved in anything like this.

[00:10:40]>> Martha Flowers says she came from up north as a way to get away from the wildfires from Canada that are sending smoke into the states.

[00:10:48]>> In Pennsylvania, where I'm from, they're dealing with the Canadian smoke. So, I'm going to go from one area to the next.

[00:10:54]>> This adds to a growing number of fires in the Everglades in the last month and a half. Steve Davis is the chief science officer of the Everglades Foundation. He says there have been drought level rain shortages that have made the land here drier.

[00:11:07]>> We've now entered into this extended dry period once again, and it's really exacerbating the drought. It makes the system more vulnerable to fire, especially when water levels are at or below the soil surface.

[00:11:20]>> Davis says fires are common in this part of Florida's river of grass. He says if there was even just a little more rain, these fires wouldn't last as long. June is generally a a pretty good rainfall month, but we had about half or less of the the typical average for that month.

[00:11:39]And what we're looking at in July is a below average rainfall month.

[00:11:45]>> And we've certainly had our own heavy rain during the month of July so far.

[00:11:49]And moving ahead, we'll finally get a little bit of a break from the heat.

[00:11:52]Below average temperatures expected for the rest of the week and even into the first half of the weekend. By early next week, we'll be back up to around average. And we do still have those daily chances for rain in the forecast as well, which should continue to help with our drought conditions here in East Tennessee. Thank you so much for watching. And remember, [music] you can get the latest forecast and watch our 24/7 live radar anytime with the WBIR app. You can download [music] the app for free and watch on your TV.

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