Weather Watch:  Caught in a Flash Flood

If heavy rains are occurring upstream of your location, you may be
susceptible to flash flooding.  Avoid camps along streams and washes,
especially when the forecast calls for heavy or persistent rain in
your vicinity.

If waters are rising rapidly, get to higher ground immediately.  You
may have only seconds before a surge of debris-filled water engulfs
you.  Do not attempt to cross fast-moving water deeper than your
ankles--it may knock you off your feet.

Most people who die in flash flooding die in their vehicle.  It takes
as little as one foot of water to float your car.  If you come across
swiftly moving water and cannot see the road surface, never drive
through it!  Turn around and go another way.  Even if you are familiar
with the road, the asphalt may be washed out and you will be unaware
of how deep the water is.  If your vehicle stalls, leave it!  You
stand a better chance of surviving in the water than trapped in your
car, rolled around by the flood waters.

-David Schultz, NOAA/National Severe Storms Laboratory