HOUSTON (AP) - The initial leg of an annual 150- mile charity bike ride involving more than 13,000 cyclists raising money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society was washed out Saturday as heavy rains pounded Southeast Texas for a second straight day.

At least one death - a man who drowned in his car in a flooded underpass Friday in Fayette County - was blamed on the storms.

The first half of the 25th anniversary MS 150 had been scheduled for Houston to La Grange. It was scrapped after Friday's torrential rains flooded the Fayette County Fairgrounds, where tents were set up for overnight accommodations for participants. Saturday's continuing downpours made riding treacherous.

"The safety of our participants and volunteers is the first priority," the Lone Star Chapter of the National MS Society said in a statement.

Organizers of one of the nation's largest such events hoped clearing weather forecast for Sunday would allow for the second half of the ride from La Grange to Austin.

The Fayette County fatality was southeast of La Grange in Schulenburg, midway between Houston and San Antonio. Frank Floyd, 76, of Hallettsville, drowned Friday afternoon after he and his wife became trapped after driving into a flooded railroad underpass on U.S. 77, said Schulenburg Police Chief Randy Mican.

"It filled up with water pretty quick and the water kept rising," said Mican, who estimated the water depth reached 8 to 9 feet. "It's not common to flood that much."

Floyd's wife, Mary, 72, managed to escape and was taken to a hospital. Her injuries were not believed life-threatening, the chief said.

It was the wettest April 17 on record in College Station, where 2.94 inches of rain Friday broke a mark set 30 years ago when 1.68 inches fell. Houston also set a record for the most rain for the day, with the 1.9 inches topping the old mark of 1.85 in 1992. At midday Saturday, parts of the city were so dark street lights turned on.

At least 10 inches of rain fell Friday in Colorado County, about 70 miles west of Houston, closing some roads. Minor property damage from high winds was reported in Brenham and in far North Texas in Sherman and Denison. Hail measuring 1.75 inches in diameter was reported Friday night in Laredo, along with some street flooding in Zapata County.

More heavy rain fell Saturday, and nearly all of East Texas and portions of South Texas were under some kind of threatening weather advisory with tornado warnings and watches and flash flood warnings and watches in place.

U.S. 87 south of Cuero, about 80 miles southeast of San Antonio, was closed by a flash flood Saturday. A tornado was spotted in a rural area near Marquez, about 60 miles southeast of Waco. Firefighters reported a barn was toppled by high winds near Rosebud in Milam County, about 35 miles southeast of Waco.

In Robertson County, between College Station and Waco, authorities said a possible tornado during a thunderstorm Saturday morning downed trees and power lines and left some windows broken in Franklin, the county seat.

A flash flood watch was posted from San Antonio north to Austin, east through the Houston area and to the Louisiana state line and north all the way to Texarkana. As much as 8 inches of rain was possible in far Southeast Texas, including Beaumont and Orange.

Flash flood warnings within that area were in effect until midday Saturday for a half-dozen counties east of San Antonio where rain was falling at a rate of 2 to 3 inches an hour.

A flood warning was posted for Pine Island Bayou near Sour Lake, just west of Beaumont, where the flood stage of 25 feet was expected to be topped by Monday.