The rain is coming from the same storm system responsible for severe weather in the Plains Tuesday, and the threat for more Wednesday. The cold front with this storm is slated to stall out in Texas and near the northern Gulf Coast. As a result, deep moisture will feed into showers and storms repeatedly moving over the same locations along and near the front.<doc-sep>Rainstorms and rising floodwaters in the Houston area have left hundreds of residents stranded and prompted firefighters and other emergency responders to conduct rescues in waist-high water Tuesday, according to reports. The area is expecting more storms over the next few days, with Houston under a flash-flood warning until Wednesday, the Houston Chronicle reported. Rainfall totals have averaged 4 to 5 inches in southern portions of Harris County and 6 to 9 inches elsewhere in the area, the county's Homeland Security and Emergency Management wrote in a Twitter message. Motorists have gotten stuck in the rising waters and responders were evacuating residents from flooded homes. All roads in Sugar Land, about 22 miles southwest of Houston, were impassable, Houston's FOX 26 reported. "This is worse than what we experienced in Harvey," Sugar Land spokesman Doug Adolph told the Houston Chronicle, referring to the hurricane that devastated the area in 2017. "Our storm drains have been unable to handle the rain in the short amount of time." "This is worse than what we experienced in Harvey. Our storm drains have been unable to handle the rain in the short amount of time." — Sugar Land, Texas, spokesman Doug Adolph In Houston, a class of preschoolers had to be rescued when their classroom flooded, according to the Chronicle. IOWA FLOODS BATTER DOWNTOWN DAVENPORT AS FUTURE OF BUSINESSES IN DOUBT Hundreds of students from different schools in the area were also stranded in the flooding Tuesday, Houston's KTRK-TV reported. Around 800 students in the suburb of Cleveland were still at their school Tuesday evening. In New Caney, in the northern part of Houston, a man rescued a woman and her baby with a shopping cart after a Walmart parking lot flooded, KTRK-TV reported. The Houston Fire Department also reported rescuing a pregnant woman in labor. The Houston fire department tweeted that it conducted 250 high-water rescues in just one part of the city, while Houston's police chief said everyone should stay off the roadways, according to the Weather Channel. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP When Hurricane Harvey made landfall in August 2017, an estimated 13 million people were affected – with 88 people killed and 135,000 homes damaged or destroyed. It was the most costly hurricane in U.S. history after 2005's Hurricane Katrina, according to World Vision.<doc-sep>A powerful storm has brought several days of severe weather across parts of the central U.S., including flooding rains in eastern Texas. Since the outbreak began on Tuesday, there have been 13 reported tornadoes in two different states (11 in Texas and two in Oklahoma). There were several tornado warnings early Wednesday along an intense line of storms spanning central Oklahoma and Texas, including reports of a large tornado in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, with possible damage. A flash flood emergency was issued early Wednesday morning for parts of central Kansas due to rainfall totals in excess of 4 inches. Moisture flowing in from the Gulf pounded Houston on Tuesday with rainfall rates up to 3 inches per hour and 10.19 inches of rain in Fort Bend County, a suburb southeast of the city. The radar on Wednesday morning was showing several clusters of intense thunderstorms stretching across parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. A few cells separate from the main line of storms have popped up across parts of Texas as well. Damaging winds, brief tornadoes and hail remain possible, as well as rainfall rates of 2 inches per hour or higher in some spots. A tornado watch is still in effect for parts of southern Kansas, most of Oklahoma and northern Texas, but it will likely be allowed to expire early Wednesday morning. A severe thunderstorm watch will remain in effect for parts of central Texas until 7 a.m. local time. Flash flood watches are being issued ahead of the line of storms as well. An intense line of storms is expected to move through major cities in Texas -- Dallas, Waco and Austin -- later Wednesday, as well as bringing very heavy rainfall to part of the Arkansas-Louisiana-Texas region. The storm system will bring severe storms to parts of Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee Wednesday night. There is a large slight-risk region from San Antonio to Peoria, Illinois, where damaging winds, large hail and brief tornadoes are possible. However, of particular concern, is an enhanced risk region that includes Austin and Waco, Texas; Shreveport, Louisiana; and Little Rock, Arkansas. Winds and large hail in the region could be destructive and a few tornadoes are possible. There is a slight-risk region on Thursday for the lower Mississippi River Valley region, and that is mainly for storm activity that will be ongoing through the morning hours. This region includes Memphis, Tennessee; Jackson, Mississippi; and Alexandria, Louisiana. On Thursday, this very large system will bring unsettled weather, including thunderstorms, to parts of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, as well as parts of the Gulf states. Heavy rain and strong thunderstorms remain a concern. Locally, over 8 inches of rain are still expected to fall in parts of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. This could cause significant and life-threatening flash flooding. Heavy rain, with locally torrential downpours, are possible in the already hard-hit Houston metro area through the next several days. Behind this storm, colder air will change precipitation to snow in parts of the Upper Midwest, and into the Rocky Mountains near Denver.<doc-sep>
We're not out of the woods yet. After overnight storms dumped between 10 to 12 inches of rain in some isolated parts of Harris County, more heavy rainfall and severe storms are in the forecast until Saturday. A line of thunderstorms are expected to hit areas north of Houston today between noon and 3 p.m. and stall out north of Interstate 10, according to the National Weather Service. Tornadoes, hail and damaging winds are possible. HOUSTON RAINFALL: Where overnight storms dumped the most rain in the Houston area A flood warning is in effect for the area until 1:15 p.m., but meteorologists say Wednesday will be a slight reprieve for what's to come. "Today should be our quietest over the next few days for rainfall," said National Weather Service meteorologist Don Oettinger. The storms today could cause additional flooding in areas hardest hit by the overnight storms, he said. Those areas include Kingwood and cities in far northeast Harris County. The Weather Prediction Center said Houston is under a moderate risk for excessive rainfall for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Widespread rainfall totals are expected to be between 5 to 8 inches, with 9 to 12 inches possible in isolated areas, according to the National Weather Service. "Keep in mind these totals could very easily occur in one day, as we recently saw yesterday," according to the National Weather Service outlook. Oettinger said it's unclear how long breaks in the rain will last over the next few days, but people should prepare for widespread heavy rainfall, he said. Drivers should check for active high water locations on the Houston TranStar map or DriveTexas.org before hitting the road over the next few days. Rainfall totals are also available on the Harris County Flood Warning System website. Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.