Police capture wandering gator in Texas storms

HOUSTON (AP) — The Latest on heavy rainfall in the Houston area (all times local):
10:15 a.m.
Police in suburban Houston have safely relocated an alligator that washed up during heavy rains.
The Katy Police Department says it found a roughly 5-foot (1.5-meter) alligator slithering near train tracks in the town west of Houston.
Police say they captured the alligator and placed it in the custody of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Alligators, snakes, and other wildlife can be commonly found in inhabited areas after major storms on the Texas Gulf Coast.
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6:20 a.m.
Schools are closed Friday in the Houston area after heavy rainfall flooded roadways, though the high water is beginning to recede.
The National Weather Service says most areas saw about 1 to 3 inches of rain late Thursday and early Friday, though some places saw 3 to 6 inches of rain during that time period. Forecasters say a lull in rainfall is expected Friday, but another round of storms is expected late Friday and early Saturday.
The storms pelted the Houston area with golf-ball sized hail and flooded streets, leading to several high-water rescues. Although the dome was up at Minute Maid Park, some fans at the Houston Astros’ Thursday night game were drenched after the roof began leaking.
Houston has repeatedly faced flooding in recent years because the city has insufficient drainage and experienced rapid development that reduced wetlands.
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12:01 a.m.
The Houston area braced for more serious flooding as heavy rain and hail pelted the nation’s fourth largest city for the second time this week, threatening to send some streams over their banks.
The National Weather Service said some areas received as much as 3 inches (76.2 millimeters) of rain an hour late Thursday.
It issued a flash flood advisory for five counties in southeastern Texas including Harris, which includes Houston. The Barker Dam area near Houston received nearly 6 inches of rain Thursday evening, the weather service said.
Local media reported that the storms left as many as 100,000 customers without electric power and dozens of local roads covered with water, making driving treacherous.
Houston has repeatedly faced flooding in recent years because the city has insufficient drainage and experienced rapid development that reduced wetlands.