'Bill' Downgrades To A Depression; Flooding Rain Closes Roads

Update 4:32 p.m. Tropical Depression Bill’s is moving inland across North Texas and into Oklahoma, according to the National Weather Service.

Parts of the Texas Panhandle could experience some showers or a storm with heavy rainfall from the tropical depression, but most of its activity will stay farther east.

  Update, 1:49 p.m.: What is left of Tropical Depression Bill was near the borders of Tarrant, Parker and Johnson counties about 1 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Light-to-moderate rain will continue in the DFW area. If drier air moves in this afternoon, conditions should improve, the weather service says. Winds should stay strong and sustained around 20 to 25 mph and gusting to 30 to 35 through the evening.

Showers and thunderstorms may develop again tomorrow during the hottest part of the day, but the weather service says it's not yet clear when and where those storms might hit.

Update, 12:11 p.m.: The National Weather Service reports general rainfall rates at 2 to 3 inches per hour along the I-35 corridor from Waco to Fort Worth and Decatur with some embedded areas at 4+ inches. 

Also, peak winds in the DFW metroplex have reached 32 to 37 miles per hour today, and the wind advisory will continue. 

Update, 11 a.m.: Lake Worth is closed to all boating activities, and all city-operated boats ramps are closed as well, according to an email sent from the Fort Worth Water Department.

Update, 10:55 a.m.: The accident on the Dallas North Tollway has been cleared. Michael Ray with the North Texas Tollway Authority says all lanes have been reopened. The exit ramp from Stemmons Freeway to the Tollway has been reopened as well. 

Update, 10:33 a.m.: The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Warning for the Trinity River at Dallas. The river is predicted to crest at 38 feet by Friday morning. 

Update, 10:02 a.m.: Interstate 35E at Ledbetter Drive remains closed due to flooding. The Office of Emergency Management in Dallas has updated its list of road closures: 

The North Texas Tollway Authority has closed the northbound part of the Dallas North Tollway due to an accident. All traffic is exiting at Lemmon Avenue. 

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers have also closed the entrance ramp from I-35 to northbound DNT.

Update, 9:11 a.m: The Trinity River's water level has jumped about a foot in the past few hours, due to steady rainfall in Dallas.

Original post: Tropical Depression Bill is moving north this morning, producing heavy rainfall in North and Central Texas. 

The heaviest rainfall has been reported in Cameron with 2.5 inches and 2 to 4 more inches are expected, according to The National Weather Service. 

Despite the significant rainfall already, North Texas remains under a Flash Flood Watch. Grimes and Walker are the only under a warning right, according to the weather service.

Rainfall rates are about 1 inch per hour in the area mapped below:

Credit National Weather Service

And here are the maximum wind gusts forecasted for today:

The Dallas Morning News recorded the statement from City of Dallas officials on Tuesday about flooding precautions and the state of the Trinity River. 

This weather blog will be updated throughout the day. Check back for more information.