Parts of Smithville soaked after Friday storm

SMITHVILLE, Texas - Parts of Smithville are drying out after several inches of soaking rain fell Friday morning.

"A lot of thunder and lightning. I could hear the rain on the tin roof," said James Welsh. He was awake before the storm but walked outside to see water and a lot of it.

"This happens most every time we get three inches of rain or more," said Welsh. The drainage system throughout the city can't keep up he says.

His next door neighbor Kevin Ralph shared a similar view. Ralph sat on the porch playing his guitar like he does most every morning.

"It was up to this top step," said Ralph pointing to where the water had been. "It's going to recede back."

It was a similar story a few streets over. Gilbert Brown drove over to check on his renters who were surrounded by water. "It was higher than this earlier," Brown said.

The woman who lives in Brown's rent house told FOX 7 she couldn't get her daughters to the bus because of all the water around her house.

Debris from the storm clogged drains slowing progress but Smithville crews worked their way around town trying to clear them. Several large trees also came down.

As for the roads at one point authorities closed more than 40 low water crossings. Neighbors hope to dry out before the next storm moves through.

"This year we got quite a bit of rain so far," said Brown.

Welsh says it's hard to complain about the rain when there have been so any dry years.

"If we could find a way to pipe it back to the other side of Austin and put t in Lake Travis that would be good," Welsh said.

Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management officials used a regional notification message to let people know about the heavy rains.

For more on road closures throughout Central Texas, click here.