Flash Floods in Texas

June 1965: Sanderson Flash Flood

~~~~~~~~~ june 1965 Sanderson Flash Flood dawn hours and, with little warning, struck the town at daybreak. The resulting increase was unprecedented, so even long-time residents would not have expected a rise to reach so far into town. The surge carried debris from miles above Sanderson and then added larger and more dangerous wreckage from the industrial sections of town. This was then thrust upon the residential sections of Sanderson hit by the flood. Overall, the Sanderson flash flood is one of the most scarring and prototypical inundations in the history of the United States. Precedent Sanderson’s annual rainfall averages a little more than 13 inches. September is the only month that averages more than 2 inches (2.29). May and June average the image of a West Texas flash flood is that of a wall of water thundering down a dry gulch. In 1965, just such a wall of water propelled the powerful flash flood that decimated much of Sanderson. Two draws or canyons join at the western end (upstream) of Sanderson. The town sits below their junction, inside a curving canyon. It is a town sitting, as some have said, in a cup. On the night of June 10, 1965, strong thunderstorms stalled upstream of Sanderson and dropped intense rain. The deluges triggered flood waves that took out dams, railroad bridges, dozens of telephone poles, and everything else in its path. At dawn on June 11, 1965, the wave smashed into Sanderson. This particular flash flood was a combination of the worst of multiple elements. The destructive wave rose in the dark, preCar behind Bart’s Conoco station, Sanderson (courtesy of the Terrell County Historical Commission). A4481.indb 173 A4481.indb 173 1/18/08 1:51:52 PM 1/18/08 1:51:52 PM ~~~ june 19 65 174 “Safety first” after the flood. (courtesy of the Terrell County Historical Commission). 1.71 inches and 1.65 inches, respectively, and are the second and third rainiest months. In 1965 Sanderson received no rain in January and March. In February it gauged 1.31 inches and in April, 0.42 inches. May was a wet month for the town, as it received 2.15 inches. For the first five months of the year, rainfall was 0.04 inches below average. Rainfall and Storm Late on June 10 a storm moved into Terrell County from the west. A dispatcher at Marathon noted, “We were only on the edge of the storm, and it moved directly toward Sanderson.” More big rains were reported from the Big Bend country to the Panhandle , following a cold front that dropped the temperature 15 degrees in Odessa. A weatherman at Odessa said the storm was “unusually calm considering the amount of activity in the area.” The rains in Odessa dropped 3.1 inches in the northern portions of town. More stormy weather was reported at McCamey and near Rankin, where 0.8–1.6 inches fell. In the early morning of June 11 high water blocked Highway 329. Wink, Monahans, Snyder, Colorado City, and Midland all reported more than 1 inch of rain. The front that produced the precipitation hit Odessa and Midland around 3 p.m. on June 10. In the South Plains, near Lubbock and Plainview, the weather bureau said that funnel clouds that were “too numerous to accurately count . . . danced through the sky for hours.” Evidence of the moisture in the system was seen in rainfall totals of more than 10 inches south of Muleshoe. Plainview’s Running Water Draw, which was usually dry, ran five feet deep and fifty yards wide, while high water blocked traffic into Palo Duro State Park. Near Sanderson, the rains started falling at 4 p.m. on June 10. Between 6 and 9 p.m. the showers were well distributed over the Sanderson Canyon watershed. Hail fell on the southwestern edge of the area. Rain continued until 5 or 6 a.m. on June 11. At 4 a.m. the Three Mile Draw began receiving heavy downpours. Between 4 and 8 a.m. on A4481.indb 174 A4481.indb 174 1/18/08 1:51:52 PM 1/18/08 1:51:52 PM ~~~ s ander son fl a sh flo od 175 Possible grave sites at cemetery. (courtesy of the Terrell County Historical Commission). June 11, more than 5 inches fell in the watershed feeding Three Mile Draw. Official reports from...