The area of Austin will be under a flash flood watch until 1 a.m. tonight and a severe thunderstorm watch until 10 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Heavy raining over the past week has caused the river levels to rise and the ground to become water saturated. This poses the risk of preventing the rain from tonight’s thunderstorms from being able to drain off, which could cause flooding, said NWS meteorologist Brad Adams.

“The amount of rain we have experienced can certainly create flooding. It will all boil down to how saturated the ground is,” Adams said.

Austin is expected to receive half an inch to one and a quarter inches of rain overnight. Residents in flood prone regions are advised to be ready to move to high grounds as water levels rise.

Weather is projected to improve going into the later half of the weekend, with dryer, cooler conditions expected.

“It will be pretty dry without humidity going into next week. If we can get through tonight and tomorrow, we should be out of the woods,” Adams said.