University of Memphis students' spirits may have been high after the Tigers' victories in Dallas, but so were the floodwaters.
Despite the fact that the National Weather Service classified the Dallas and north Texas area as being in a "severe drought," the skies opened up over downtown Dallas leaving much of the area under water.
Dallas received around five inches of rain on Saturday, causing flash floods throughout the city and at least one death.
"The water started going down at around 11 Sunday night," said Tiffany Liles, a Hilton Hotel clerk. "It was hard to get out with all the water on the roads."
But getting out was one of the main objectives for U of M students hoping to arrive back in Memphis Sunday evening.
As soon as the buzzer sounded at American Airlines Arena, an exodus of college basketball fans left the arena only to find I-35 East - the main interstate into and out of Dallas - at a complete stand still.
"It looked like a parking lot," said Lauren McKnight, accounting major. "Luckily for us we already had checked out and we were going the other way. "
Students heading back to their hotel, however, were not so lucky.
"Students who needed to go back into the city probably didn't make class Monday," McKnight said. "Dallas really isn't a short trip."
High water levels and a single car accident forced officials to shut down several lanes of I-35 causing massive delays for Dallas residents and Tiger fans alike.
"It rained off and on all weekend, but Sunday we could hear the thunder in the stadium," McKnight said. "After that we pretty much waded out."
Along with delays, flooding caused Dallas authorities to attempt two water rescues.
In the Dallas Metroplex area, officials reported areas with five feet of standing water. Authorities found a woman's body floating in the area after her car was carried off the road by surging waters.
Despite the large amount of rain, The National Weather Service still lists the area as 11.5 inches under the average amount of rainfall.
The drought has caused several wildfires across Texas over the last month, with no hope of relief until Saturday.
"I think a lot of Memphis fans were angered by all the delays the rain caused," McKnight said. "But Texas really needed that rain and Memphis won, so there really isn't much to be angry about now."
