A torrential downpour overnight left the City of Mansfield’s Katherine Rose Memorial Park flooded with water. Over four inches of rain between 1 and 7 a.m. the morning of May 17 caused the inundation that interrupted people’s daily commutes in Mansfield.
Rose Park, located on 303 North Walnut Creek Drive, connects people from south Mansfield to 287 and other amenities like Walmart and a variety of restaraunts. Walnut Creek was shut down in front of Rose Park because of over two feet of water flooding the street. Mansfield residents often use the trails at Rose Park for exercise.
“It was scary,” a Mansfield resident said. “I have lived here in Texas for 23 years and I’ve never seen it like this.”
The US Geological Survey recorded May’s rainfall totals so far at 7.96 inches, already ahead of May’s historic month long average of 4.53 inches. Rain has been recorded in Mansfield 10 of the last 14 days according to intellicast.com. The ground has been saturated and as a result runoff flowed to the lowest point in Mansfield, Rose Park and its trails.
Track and Cross Country Coach Lacy Beckler runs through the park and was shocked by the water level.
“I spend day after day at the park and I’ve never seen it like this,” Coach Beckler said. “I didn’t even think it was possible.”
The ground underneath a railroad line that runs by Rose Park caved in, leaving the railroad unusable. Workers from Union Pacific Railroad were at the site attempting to fill the empty space with gravel to make the rail operable again. A worker felt confident it was a job that would only take “a couple of hours.”
The rainfall Sunday morning has been part of an even bigger problem for the community and particularly the athletes of Legacy. Baseball and Softball have had to reschedule several games this season to work around the severe weather.
“It really hurt the baseball schedule all season long,” junior Cooper Keeney said. “We didn’t put in a lot of work for a shortened season.”
