Flash floods, water rescues, street closings in Montco

Several drivers got stuck in a swift, heavy downpour that flooded streets and closed two heavily used Norristown bridges Monday evening.

Around 5, the Dannehower Bridge and the DeKalb Street Bridge were flooded. Those bridges carry major commuter traffic over the Schuylkill between Norristown and King of Prussia, Bridgeport, and other areas in western Montgomery County.

The Norristown Fire Department performed "multiple water rescues," according to its Facebook page, and a Montgomery County emergency dispatcher said it sent assistance for at least three disabled vehicles.

Outside of Norristown, the dispatcher said, many drivers were calling "just to report hazardous road conditions from the water." The county's online emergency reporting database showed clusters of traffic calls in Ambler, Abington, and Willow Grove.

By 5:40 p.m., she said, the bridges had reopened and the calls had stopped.

In Conshohocken, Route 23 was also flooded at Station Avenue. That intersection sits alongside Mill Creek, which overruns its banks "every time it rains," the dispatcher said.