Pauls Valley enjoys brief break from rain, prepares for more flooding

Several days of rain and thunderstorms have drenched Oklahoma, with southern portions of the state expected to receive some of the highest amounts by the weekend.

In Pauls Valley, shovels and a mountain of sand sit outside the fire department. People in town got to work on Wednesday, filling and deploying sandbags as needed.

On Thursday, the skies cleared, and the water slowly dropped.

"I've got a creek that runs in my backyard, and I was just putting sandbags along my fence, just trying to be precautious, just in case the water comes up that far," said Buckly Pringle, who found relief by fishing from a flooded road on Thursday.

"It's just been pretty hectic," he said. "Just trying to keep up with where the water is going to be and how to maneuver around it and stuff like that and trying to make sure the roads are safe."

Pringle, who recently returned to Oklahoma after a stint in other states like Florida, said a brush with Hurricanes has prepared him for keeping water out of his house.

Charlie Brock dropped a line in the water down the road from Pringle. He recently moved from Shawnee.

"Well, we got up around 5:30 yesterday morning and the water was about probably almost a foot deep and on the main roads and had a car stalled out and stuff," he said. "But, we tried to drive around town to see how bad it was in some spots."

Gauge readings of the Washita River near Pauls Valley indicated the river has fallen back down after swelling slightly during the heavy rains. As of late Thursday, the river is not forecasted to flood, according to online information from the National Weather Service.