Flooding closes over 100 crossings in Austin
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Rainfall totals in the Austin area between 9:45pm Sunday and 9:45am Monday. Image: Courtesy of Lower Colorado River Authority
Barton Springs Pool was shuttered and at least one driver had to be rescued amid flooding in the Austin area early Monday.
Why it matters: A flood watch continues in parts of Central Texas through 7pm Tuesday, with pockets of heavy rainfall in the forecast.
Stunning stat: Areas to the south and east of Austin could receive as many as 6 inches of rain during this set of storms, per a forecast discussion posted by the National Weather Service (NWS) Monday.
- More than 4.5 inches fell in parts of greater Austin over a 12-hour period between Sunday night and Monday morning, per the Lower Colorado River Authority.
- Near Eagle Pass, about 140 miles southwest of San Antonio, as much as 12 inches fell Monday morning.
State of play: As of Monday morning, 107 crossings were closed in Austin.
What's happening: "Really deep moisture" in the atmosphere met a weak cold front from the north, leading to the heavy downpours, Cory Van Pelt, a meteorologist with the NWS New Braunfels office, tells Axios.
Zoom in: The NWS sent out multiple flash flood warnings early Monday.
- Sent when life and property are at risk, the texts bypassed do-not-disturb settings across Austin.
- Travis County's Office of Emergency Management also sent out its own warning at about 1:30am "to reinforce the NWS message," David Wiechmann, a spokesperson for Austin Emergency Management, tells Axios.
- Context: Last July, the NWS faced scrutiny over the timing and number of its alerts in the lead-up to the devastating Hill Country floods.
Zoom out: Despite all the recent precipitation, Austin has seen a total this year of 15.51 inches of rain as of Monday morning — trailing the normal year-to-date accumulation of 16.89, per NWS.
What's next: Expect muggy weather and more rain this week.
- Van Pelt says that a drier midweek could give way to more rain at week's end, with a front coming in from the south.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with new forecast information.