Story by Trey Mewes and Jason Schoonover, Photos by Jason Schoonover

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for Dobbins and Turtle creeks in Austin Monday afternoon after a series of morning thunderstorms dropped at least 2 to 3 inches of rain.

Turtle Creek rose about 2.4 feet between 6:40 and 8:40 a.m. The Turtle rose to 6.6 feet by 7:30 a.m. and was expected to rise to about 11.5 feet by Tuesday morning, which is above the flood stage of 10.5 feet. It was expected to fall below the flood stage by Wednesday morning.

Dobbins Creek waters rose to 7.7 feet by 6:30 a.m. Waters were expected to surpass the 11.5-foot flood stage and top out at 13 feet later Monday. Waters were then expected to drop back below the flood stage later this event

I-90 flood waters recede 

The rains caused flooding on Interstate 90 Monday morning and closed the eastbound lanes near 11th Street Northeast for several minutes. By 11:30 a.m., the flooded portions of I-90 had dried.

Austin Police Chief Brian Krueger said there were several areas of the city were blocked off due to flash floods, but much of the flooding on roadways was receding by late Monday morning. Two on-ramps on Interstate 90 — the eastbound Fourth Street Northwest entrance ramp and the eastbound Sixth Street Northeast entrance ramp, were temporarily closed as waters rose due to heavy rains.

Krueger asked residents to slow down and be careful not to drive through standing water during storms.

Car totaled after hitting firetruck

A car was totaled after running into a fire truck on the flooded portion of Interstate 90 this morning, according a press release from the fire department. No one was injured.

Several other accidents were also reported, including crashes on County Road 4 east of County Road 7 and on 170th Street.

Storm summary

The weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning through 7:45 a.m. Monday, along with flash flood warnings and a severe weather watch through 10 a.m. The storms brought high winds and heavy rains, which caused flooding on several streets. Austin city employees found standing water in several places throughout the city, including Highway 218 near Oakland Avenue East.

A van stalled and was left in flood waters along 14th Street Northeast just south of Todd Park.

Sixth Avenue Northeast just west of Highway 218 was under water for a good portion of the morning, but waters were receding around noon.

“This seems to be the worst part,” Alex Kinnear said just before noon after driving to a home on the flooded Sixth Street.

Kinnear had been driving around town since about 6:30 a.m. for work with Northern Green Gardening, and he said the flooded drainage ditch near Grace Lutheran Church was some of the highest water he’d seen.

Though the weather service previously said storms could redevelop this afternoon and evening as a cold front moves through, the chance of move weather has since been reduced.