Saturday storms soak Austin; Austin sees brief flooding after 2-3 inches of rain
Published 10:53 am Monday, July 25, 2016
- A section of washed-out embankment slid away as far up as the sidewalk next to Turtle Creek Saturday morning. Heavy rains from storms caused the bank to give way up to the sidewalk. -- Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Water pooled on streets, flowed over the curbs on parts of Fourth Avenue Northeast and caused a washout in north Austin along Turtle Creek on Saturday.
A line of strong storms brought downpours and some flash flooding to Austin Saturday, first between 9 and 10 a.m. and then around noon to 1 p.m. The system reduced visibilities, caused flash flooding on some city streets and left about 2-3 inches of rain.
Locally, the heaviest rain may have fallen in the heart of Austin.
“It seems like that was kind of a bulls eye,” said Todd Shea, a National Weather Service warning coordination meteorologist.
The National Weather Service reported 2.97 inches in southwest Austin, though reports trailed off on the edges of town to 2.25 inches at Austin Municipal Airport and 0.64 on the northwest side of town near turtle creek. However, some Austin residents reported higher rainfall totals on Facebook.
A section of washed-out embankment slid away as far up as the sidewalk next to Turtle Creek Saturday morning.
“I really think the main story on Saturday was just the heavy rain,” Shea said.
The storms came after highs reached the low 90s with heat index values above 100 degrees on Thursday and Friday. Severe storms had been possible Saturday night, but Shea said the morning downpours drained the energy from the atmosphere.
The heavy rains fell around the area with Harmony and northeast Rochester getting more than 3 inches and Mantorville getting 1.54, according the weather service.
At Lansing, the Cedar River jumped from below 10 feet Saturday to a peak of around 13.49 feet Sunday morning, though it was still below the flood action stage. The level was 12.77 feet at 6:30 a.m. Monday.
