The downtown Dallas skyline is shrouded in rain clouds as waves of precipitation move across North Texas, October 1, 2026. This is the first widespread measurable rain since mid-July.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
For days, North Texans had been warned to brace Thursday for a storm that could overwhelm roads, flood creeks and send emergency crews scrambling.
The remnants of Hurricane Polo were expected to dump 1.5 to 3 inches of rain across much of Dallas-Fort Worth, with some areas of the parched region projected to see 4 to 5 inches. Emergency crews prepared for high-water rescues as forecasters urged drivers to turn around or drown.
Fort Worth fire fighters return to their fire engine after rescuing one person from a car stranded in flood waters on Trimble Drive near Thompson Street on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Fort Worth.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
A man walks down North Riverfront Boulevard as heavy rain falls, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in downtown Dallas.
Chris Swann/The Dallas Morning News
A utility pole at the intersection of S Second Avenue and Pine Street leans after being hit by a car as rain falls in south Dallas, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026.
Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News
Vehicles drive in the rain on the State Highway Loop 288, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Denton.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Rain didn’t stop Big Tex fans from visiting the State Fair of Texas Oct. 1. The Fair delayed opening for two hours due to weather conditions in the area. Officials asked guests to monitor the forecast before heading to Fair Park.
Lana Ferguson/The Dallas Morning News
Then the rain came. And for much of the metroplex, it was less a deluge than a welcomed reprieve from the enduring summer heat.
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Tom Bradshaw, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service’s office in Fort Worth, characterized the storm’s severity as a 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 10.
“This is a pretty typical flash flood, heavy rain event,” he said.
What made it unusual was what came before it. According to Bradshaw, Dallas-Fort Worth had gone 67 days without measurable rain during the summer, a dry spell that ended Sept. 21 with just 0.01 inches of precipitation.
Dry, hardened soil can act almost like pavement when heavy rain arrives, Bradshaw explained, allowing more water to run off rather than soak into the ground.
It showed most on Thursday morning, when high water closed lanes of Interstate 35E in Denton, where emergency crews responded to a stalled vehicle.
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In Fort Worth, all westbound lanes of Interstate 30 at Chapel Creek Boulevard were shut down because of flooding, and a school closed because of water intrusion. In Waxahachie, employees used squeegees, mops and brooms to clear water from the aisles of an H-E-B.
Vehicles drive in the rain on the State Highway Loop 288, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Denton.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Air travel took a hit, too. By late morning, DFW Airport had recorded more than 260 cancellations and 900 delays, while the FAA had reinstated ground stops for flights headed to DFW and Dallas Love Field.
President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Peterbilt Motors in Denton went ahead as planned, with Air Force One touching down at DFW just shy of 3 p.m.
By then, the heaviest precipitation had pushed east of the metroplex. A lull was expected, and the immediate threat of flash flooding had eased, said Daniel Fenske, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Fort Worth.
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Over six hours, Dallas had generally picked up about 2 to 3 inches of rain, city officials said. Yet weather-related 911 and 311 calls, high-water rescues, crashes, outages and downed trees remained below the levels that would have prompted a larger emergency response.
The city did not change its normal operations.
The State Fair, however, delayed its opening, but by midday, dozens still gathered around Big Tex Circle, eating fair food, taking pictures and jumping in puddles.
Sarah Fenner and Macy Vaji had planned to come with coworkers from downtown Dallas. When the weather changed those plans, the two decided to go anyway.
They bought clear ponchos and headed to Fair Park, sharing an umbrella as they posed for a selfie with Fletcher’s corny dogs in hand, one topped with mustard and ketchup.
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“We’re dedicated,” Fenner said.
Vaji had a simpler explanation.
“We wanted the corny dogs.”
The flood watch was expected to remain in effect in Dallas through Friday morning, as forecasters anticipated another round of showers and storms.
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Staff writers Everton Bailey Jr., Kevin Krause, Lana Ferguson, Niamh Ordner, Timia Cobb and Jordan Parker contributed to this report.