High water flooding forces parts of Highway 288 in Houston to close, leaves cars stranded

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Tropical Storm Beta made landfall on the Texas coast Monday night, causing floods in Houston where cars were stuck in streets. AP via KAVU; KTRK Corpus Christi Caller Times

Parts of State Highway 288 in southeastern Texas between Houston and Freeport is flooded due to the heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Beta. 

Beta made landfall Monday night around 10 p.m. near the southern end of the Matagorda Peninsula, according to the National Hurricane Center. It is forecast to stall over Texas today before crawling toward the east-northeast tonight. 

The storm is expected to bring up to 4 feet of storm surge and up to 5 inches of rainfall in parts of Texas.

SH 288 is no stranger to flooding, but the Houston Police Department and the Texas Department of Transportation have closed portions of the highway and encouraged residents to stay away from the area. 

TS Beta: Parts of South Texas drenched, flooded despite Tropical Storm Beta weakening

Houston flooding: Flooding from Tropical Storm Beta swallows cars near Keegans Bayou in Houston

There are major high waters near Holly Hall and the Houston Police high water rescue vehicle is making rounds, looking for stranded drivers, according to a video from ABC 13 Houston. 

SH 288 closures

The following parts of SH 288 are closed as of Tuesday at 9 a.m., according to officials: 

• SH 288 at 610, 45 and 59
• Southbound lanes from IH-69 to the South Loop
• Northbound lanes from South Loop to MacGregor entrance ramp
• Exit ramps from South 610 Loop east and westbound

Here is what the flooding on SH 288 looks like

Daniella Medina is a digital producer for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach her at dmedina@gannett.com or on Twitter @danimedinanews. 

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