THE BIG WET

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The roads were still slick and strewn with stalled-out cars, but Houston residents who endured hours of traffic and flooded roads last night had little trouble getting to work this morning and blue skies have already returned.

The day after 13 tornadoes harassed Houston and as much as 9 inches of rain soaked the area, the National Weather Service predicted only off and on perfunctory showers this morning. A flood watch is to expire at noon, and a crisp fall day is expected on Wednesday. 

While the worst of Monday's freakish storm are over, some trouble spots remain.

All of of Houston's freeways are open this morning, but some feeder roads are still under water, including I-45 North at West Mount Houston and the usual low-lying spots.

While all major school districts in the Houston area resumed classes today -- including the Houston Independent School District, Aldine ISD and Alief ISD -- about 40 kids at Aldine's Calvert Elementary had to spend all night on mats in the gym because their parents couldn't get through to pick them up. Another 60 sleeping children were picked up throughout the night as parents managed to make their way to the school, and teachers were able to get to a nearby Wal-Mart to buy blankets for the kids. The school at 1925 Marvell served as a shelter during Tropical Storm Allison because it's situated on high ground near Bush Intercontinental Airport.

 The Alief district reported that about 10 of its 700 buses were flooded today, and the district was having to double up on some routes.

At HISD, it was teachers who were  dealing with flooded vehicles this morning. At Bonham Elementary School, 8302 Braes River, about 30 teachers who stayed late with stranded children lost their cars to rising water.

HISD reported the most significant damage at the Carter Career Center at 1700 Gregg. Part of the roof was gone, trees were lying in the schoolyard and the flag pole was knocked down.

Parents were just grateful no children were injured. On Monday, school buses full of students were stranded in high water. Revere Middle School students at Gessner and Bissonnet, for instance,  were rescued from a bus by Houston firefighters, said Terry Abbott, an HISD spokesman. 

Many victims of Monday's storms are only now getting survey the damage. Baytown police reported what was believed to be a tornado that touched down about 10:30 p.m. in the 2500 block of East James, damaging an apartment complex and nearby homes on Kilgore Road. Another  tornado grabbed the roof and bell off Friendswood United Methodist Church near the intersection of FM 528 and FM 2351 around 9 p.m.  

Monday's devastation was particularly severe in Sugar Land, where four office buildings were hit by a midday tornado, which broke scores of windows and tore off roofing.

Throughout Sugar Land, several dozen vehicles were damaged by flying debris and 16 people were injured, though none seriously. Eight were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, a police spokesman said.

One of those was the driver of a tractor-trailer that was tossed onto its side on West Airport near Industrial Boulevard in the city's business park / industrial area.

A day care center in the nearby town of Meadows Place was battered by the storm, but the children and staff suffered only minor cuts and scrapes, said owner Ann Fatima.

About 60 small children were at the Teeter Totter Day Care when they heard the twister approaching.

"We heard a big noise and we immediately moved the kids out of the classroom," she said.

One family and its dog came to Sugar Grove Church of Christ in Meadows Place seeking shelter after a falling tree damaged their home.

"They were in shock. A tree came into their house. They heard it. They dove into the closet and prayed like crazy," said the church's minister, Tim Shoulders.

The Riverside neighborhood in southeast Houston was a similar scene of destruction. St. James Episcopal Church at 3129 Southmore lost its sanctuary to high winds. Nearby trees were uprooted, fences flattened and residential windows shattered.

Rainfall totals varied across town. West and north Houston were hardest hit, recording as much as 8 inches in 24 hours, while some spots to the south received less than 2 inches of rain. Suburbs to the north of Houston took as much as 9 inches of rain. In an average November, Houston experiences just over 4 inches of rain.

Numerous motorists were stranded on the Sam Houston Tollway. In a scene reminiscent of Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001, some stranded commuters were rescued by Houston firefighters in boats. The Houston Police Department introduced a new rescue technique using a helicopter and hoist to evacuate stalled motorists from the flooded Katy Freeway near Washington.

As the afternoon wore on, traffic snarls abounded. Floodwaters shut down the main lanes of the Katy Freeway at Washington, Silber, Fry and Barker-Cypress. High water also plagued motorists on the Eastex Freeway at FM 1960, and for a time blocked Texas 288 -- a major ambulance route to the Texas Medical Center.

Flooding also affected traffic on other important Medical Center routes including MacGregor Way and Holcombe Boulevard. But Fannin Street, where the MetroRail tracks run through the hospital complex, was passable.

Flooded streets also hampered emergency services. A firefighter had to wade to a flood victim in northwest Houston when no vehicle could be found that would pass through the high water. An ambulance crew could not reach a patient in the Inwood Forest area at Antoine and Victory. That person's condition was not life-threatening.

Numerous arterial streets, such as busy Shepherd Drive from the Southwest Freeway to Westheimer, were shut down for a time. To ease the afternoon rush, Metro opened its High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on the Katy and Northwest freeways to all traffic except trucks and vehicles towing trailers.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority reported bus delays systemwide, and the Houston Independent School District advised parents to expect delays.

More than 9,000 HISD students whose classes meet in temporary buildings were moved into main structures to "shelter in place" -- with doors closed and students kept away from windows -- after a warning went out on the district's new emergency notification system. After-school programs and outdoor activities were canceled.

At Oak Forest Elementary, 1401 W. 43rd -- where the entire school operates from temporary buildings because of construction on the main building -- all 700 students were moved to the auditorium of nearby Black Middle School.

In Brazoria County, a tornado tore roofs from commercial buildings and also toppled an 18-wheeler near Texas 332 and Texas 36, Brazoria police said. About 10 minutes later, a second tornado hit the Clemens Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, damaging a maintenance building.

Moving eastward, a tornado touched down on Interstate 10 in Chambers County about 4 p.m., overturning two tractor-trailers and a motor home, and closing the highway's westbound lanes at the Trinity River bridge. No injuries were reported.

Another twister touched down in Tri-City late Monday, said Roeseler.

Between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., CenterPoint Energy spokeswoman Alicia Dixon reported about 55,000 customers lost power to their homes, mostly in Fort Bend County, the Spring Branch area and Jersey Village.

Chronicle reporters Salatheia Bryant, Dale Lezon, Eric Hanson and Lucas Wall contributed to this story.