'Welcome to Aggieland Atlantis': Texas college town floods during finals week

Dozens of Texas A&M University students are experiencing flash flooding this week after severe storms pummeled the Brazos Valley, leaving many streets underwater. While the skies are finally starting to clear today, May 7, residents are still grappling with the aftermath—scenes now widely shared in viral videos.

Bryan, College Station, and other surrounding cities were under a severe thunderstorm warning yesterday, with the National Weather Service (NWS) warning of 60 mph winds, quarter-sized hail and a tornado hitting the area. The agency later issued a flash flood warning, which expired around 7 p.m.

However, the impact of the storms remains, especially near Texas A&M University’s campus, located in the east-central region of the state.

One resident shared a video of the overflowing streets in College Station’s Northgate district, which is known for its selection of bars, restaurants and live music—at least, when its not underwater. In the post shared on Tuesday, May 6, parked cars are shown with a portion of their tires submerged. The water appears to be about ankle-deep. 

“I’d like to give a huge thanks to Aggieland for drowning with us this finals week,” one student said in a TikTok. “Welcome to Aggieland Atlantis.”

Prior, the Bryan Police Department had issued a traffic advisory for a street in the Villa Maria Plaza neighborhood, which is about three miles away from the Northgate Parking Garage.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M University student Ava Whelan shared scenes from her student apartment complex, The Woodlands, on TikTok, saying the storms turned her complex into “a river.”

“It was raining pretty severely for around three hours before the videos were taken,” Whelan told MySA, adding that the creek near her complex swelled to over seven or eight feet.

“The creek started to flood over into our parking lot, which was super scary because my house was the closest to the creek,” Whelan said. “We had to move our cars across the parking lot so they wouldn’t flood, but some of my neighbors were not as lucky or noticed in time.”

Whelan’s video showed her and a friend outside their apartment, trekking through the water while wearing ponchos. In the video, the water inches up near their knees as they walk.

“For a while, me and my roommate were trapped in my apartment because the entire parking lot and street was severely flooded,” Whelan said. “Some people’s cars were floating.”

Today, widespread showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue in some parts of the Houston area, according to the NWS. However, College Station remains at the lowest risk for severe weather.