The City of Grapevine is closing several roads, parks and boat ramps over concerns Lake Grapevine will rise above the spillway.
- Fairway Drive, per the US Army Corps of Engineers, was closed Friday afternoon in anticipation of the lake reaching the spillway level of 560 feet which has not occurred since 1990. This includes the closure of the Grapevine Golf Course and the Grapevine Concourse;
- Dove Road in the vicinity of Silvercrest Lane was closed Friday evening. When water goes over the road at this location, it will remain closed until flood conditions cease;
- All boat ramps and lake parks are closed.
The closures were put in place Friday and will remain in place until roads are determined to be safe to pass.
Additionally, officials are "strongly discouraging" boating activities on Lake Grapevine for the next several days due to rising water levels, displaced wildlife and submerged objects that could cause damage to boats and boaters.
Thursday's storm, which dropped nearly five inches of rain overnight at Dallas Love Field and more than two inches elsewhere around the Metroplex, helped set a record for the wettest May in Dallas-Fort Worth history.
The previous record for May rainfall was set in 1982 at 13.66 inches and was eclipsed at midnight when 13.87 inches had been recorded for the month. By 8 a.m., the total rose to 16.07 inches; 8.62 inches received in the last week alone.
The wettest month ever recorded in North Texas goes all the way back to April 1922 where 17.64 inches were recorded. With more rain expected Friday night and into Saturday, shattering that record remains a possibility.
Midway Road was closed at Midway Court as well, about a quarter of a mile south from Paradise Cove, a wedding and special events venue.
On Thursday, NBC 5 highlighted the plight of owner Tina Nealy, who was busy putting sandbags in place along the perimeter of the events center.
Nealy watched as Lake Grapevine swallowed the gazebo which has played host to wedding ceremonies for years.
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"Well, I mean, this is my baby," Nealy said Thursday, fighting back tears. "I designed all of that. So, I mean, it's hard."
Friday morning Nealy returned to a heavy dose of reality – the lake water had risen to the point that her business' parking lot was under water, as was about 200 yards of Midway Road leading up to her property.
However, hope was not lost.
Dozens of people began to show up, as well.
"I saw a bunch of trucks," Nealy said Friday night. "And I thought they were people just coming to look and see the water, as so many have done. And then I realized that it was people that were there to help."
"We moved everything needed for three weddings at Paradise Cove in two hours over a flooded parking lot because of, just, community," Nealy said. "Community, all over. Not just [Grapevine] but all over the Metroplex. People that I didn't even know."
Nealy said she could not give enough thanks to the volunteers who helped to make sure that the weddings would still be a possibility – albeit in other venues, provided by friends and competitors.
"Anybody out there that I did not get to shake your hand or thank you, thank you so much," Nealy said. "Because it was huge. People I didn't even know. Neighbors… I didn't know half the people that were here."
