Barton Springs Pool was shuttered and at least one driver had to be rescued amid flooding in the Austin area early yesterday.

Why it matters: A flood watch continues in parts of Central Texas through 7pm today, 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 the National Weather Service (NWS).

• More than four inches fell in parts of greater Austin over a 12-hour period between Sunday night and yesterday morning, per the Lower Colorado River Authority.
• Near Eagle Pass, about 140 miles southwest of San Antonio, as much as 12 inches fell yesterday morning.

State of play: As of yesterday 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 yesterday.

• 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 yesterday 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.

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A recent UnidosUS poll of 500 Latino registered voters in Texas shows 67% disapprove of President Trump's job performance.

Why it matters: The erosion of Latino support for Trump, combined with dissatisfaction with the economy, signals danger for competitive GOP-held seats in the 2026 midterm elections.

By the numbers: In Texas, where significant rightward shifts occurred in 2024, 54% of respondents said they would vote for the Democratic House candidate in their district, compared with 28% for the Republican candidate.

Zoom in: Nationally, cost of living remains the top issue shaping Latino voters' views of Trump, followed by immigration enforcement.

The big picture: The poll suggests Latino voters remain among the most fluid blocs in the electorate, giving Democrats an opening in Texas districts that shifted right in 2024.

The bottom line: Republicans redrew Texas congressional maps after making significant gains with Latino voters in 2024.

• The new polling suggests some Latino voters who backed Trump before may be reconsidering that support ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Methodology: The bipartisan poll was conducted April 27–May 14 by BSP Research and Shaw & Company Research on behalf of UnidosUS. The poll is based on a sample of 3,000 Latino registered voters across the U.S., including 500 in Texas, with a margin of sampling error in the state of ±4.4 percentage points.

The University of Texas fired KUT general manager Debbie Hiott yesterday, following a fight over the station's festival last month. (KUT)

💸 Alamo Drafthouse is rolling out parking validation at its South Lamar Boulevard theater. (Culture Map)

🏗️ Work is underway on a major development project tied to a Fortune 100 company in the Dog's Head area. (Austin Business Journal 🔒)

An Austin salon is seeing a boost in business as searches for gray hair salons and services have surged on Yelp.

Why it matters: America is getting older, and more people are embracing their grays rather than hiding them.

By the numbers: Yelp searches for salons offering gray blending — a coloring technique that uses highlights to incorporate gray strands — jumped 905% in 2025 from a year earlier, according to data the platform shared with Axios.

• Inquiries for gray hair specialists rose 276%.

What they're saying: Blending can stretch that time between visits by a month or two, according to Cynthia Valdez, owner and hairstylist at Austin's Little Thrills Salon.

• The technique has grown so popular that Valdez recently had to start limiting appointments to make room for haircuts and other services.
• Many people now want to "showcase" their grays, Valdez tells Axios, "rather than always being obsessed about covering it, or being insecure about showing it."

Between the lines: Many of her clients are millennials and Gen Z with "just a little bit" of gray. For them, Valdez says she adds highlights to enhance or brighten the grays that frame their face.

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A new bench in Austin will serve as a space for reflection and dialogue about the past.

Driving the news: The Toni Morrison Society chose Austin's Neill-Cochran House Museum as the site of its 36th "Bench by the Road."

• The national program places commemorative benches at sites that hold significance to the history of the transatlantic slave trade.

Zoom in: The historic Neill-Cochran House preserves the only intact slave quarters remaining in Austin.

What's next: A free event coinciding with the museum's annual Juneteenth celebration will include a barbecue lunch, live music and tours of the house noon-4pm Sunday.

• The event will conclude with a dedication of the bench at 3pm.