Emergency rescues unfold in Texas as life-threatening flash floods slam the South amid tropical disturbance

Heavy rain is soaking the South this week, with flash flooding putting millions at risk from Texas to Georgia.

The dangerous impacts are already unfolding. Rescue operations began overnight and continue into this morning, following widespread reports of cars becoming stranded amid the rapidly rising waters.

Severe flooding has caused significant damage to the roadway in the Sisterdale area of Texas.

Photos show the road buckled, creating a dangerous hazard for drivers. 

Crews at the Sisterdale Volunteer Fire Department continue to respond to multiple incidents involving vehicles and individuals stranded at low-water crossings.

Additionally, Interstate 35 has turned into a river as first responders save trapped motorists from almost completely submerged cars, while further south in Austin, officials have already closed just under two dozen low-water crossings.

Along with that, the Burleson County Sheriff's dispatch reported five cars stranded due to high water early this morning. All occupants were rescued, and no injuries were reported.

Officials are urging drivers to 'Turn Around, Don't Drown,' highlighting the threat floodwaters pose not only to themselves but to others as well.

That said, the National Weather Service has upgraded portions of the region to a Level 3 out of 4 flood threat through Thursday, with widespread and locally catastrophic flooding expected over the coming days.

HOW HIGH PRESSURE AND LOW PRESSURE DRIVE THE WEATHER

Deep tropical moisture surging northward will interact with a strong cold front dropping south into the region beginning Sunday. As the front drifts south, it will come to a halt by midweek with daily showers and thunderstorms redeveloping along the boundary as plenty of instability remains available.

At the same time, an upper-level area of circulation — some of which is the ghost of former Tropical Storm Cristina from the eastern Pacific — will move north out of Mexico while tapping into immense Gulf moisture.

With moisture values nearing record territory, slow-moving thunderstorms are expected to ride north off the Gulf as the disturbance tracks into Texas.

While the exact track of the system is unknown, the National Hurricane Center has placed an Area to Watch in the northwestern Gulf.

Although the circulation remains over land in northeastern Mexico, there is a low chance that the center reemerges over the Gulf by midweek as it interacts with the aforementioned front.

DEW POINT VS. HUMIDITY: WHICH ONE IS A BETTER MEASURE OF HOW MUGGY THE AIR FEELS?

While the chance of Tropical Storm Arthur, or even a depression, forming remains very low, the dangerous flood threat stays the same across the South.

Pacific and Gulf moisture teaming up as a firehose across the South will pose a mounting risk along the Texas coastline, with places like Houston and Corpus Christi under a Level 2 out of 4 threat through Tuesday.

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In fact, much of South Texas and into Louisiana is under Flood Watches, and this is not even for the rain associated with the tropical disturbance or Area to Watch.

Depending on the track and timing of the potent area of spin, we may still be tracking flash flooding through Friday, as some models show the system causing major impacts in the South into next weekend, according to the FOX Forecast Center.

WHAT IS A TROPICAL STORM?

Regardless, even if the system never achieves tropical status, it may be an extremely dangerous flood threat in locations from Corpus Christi to Houston and into Northern Louisiana.