A slowly moving patch of thunderstorms brought heavy rains and flash flooding around Austin in Texas, beginning early Thursday morning and continuing throughout the evening. As a result of the storms, multiple water rescues had to be made.
Numerous roads were closed overnight in the city of Austin as rainfall totals of more than 4 inches were reported in some spots.
Estimated rainfall in Austin
Camp Mabry in Austin reported 3.27 inches of rain in just two hours. A rain gauge near the Penny backer Bridge over Lake Austin recorded 5.99 inches of rain, including 3.60 inches within one hour on Thursday morning.
North of Austin in Georgetown, 6.10 inches of rain was reported. More than 50 low-water crossings have been closed.
The Lower Colorado River Authority opened three floodgates releasing water from Lake Austin into Lady Bird Lake. They also reported that Lake Travis rose six inches since midnight.
The threat of flash flooding continued through Friday morning due to upper-level disturbances moving through the area, coupled with tropical moisture. Another 1 to 2 inches of rain can be expected across the area and some spots could see up to 3 to 5 inches over the weekend. The ground is already saturated, so any additional rainfall could produce more flash flooding, as well as rapid rises in rivers, streams and creeks.
A flash flood warning has been issued for parts of Burnet and Williamson counties in Austin's northern suburbs as more slow-moving storms with heavy rain are expected to develop.
Columbia, South Carolina, Houston & Virginia beaches have also reported flash floods, while Hurricane Polo continues to drench Mexico.
Further flooding is expected over the week end as widespread tropical moisture will lead to additional heavy rain over New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.
