Hurricane Harvey: Austin Region Pelted With Rain, Waterways Closed, Flood Advisories Issued

AUSTIN, TX — The Austin Fire Department on Saturday ordered the closing of all city waterways due to rising water levels and debris buildup fueled by tropical storm Harvey.

Central Texas was beset with continual rains all day Saturday and into Sunday sparked by Harvey's inland trajectory after having touched down on the Texas Gulf Coast late Friday. As a result of the downpours, all area creeks and lakes normally accessible by the public have been closed.

"Due to large rainwater from Hurricane Harvey hitting land on Aug. 25, 2017, additional waters are entering City of Austin waterways," fire officials wrote in an advisory. "These conditions have created high and swift waters which, combined with debris, has made recreational, commercial and navigational use of all waterways including creeks within the City of Austin unsafe."

Among the closed waterways are: Barton Creek; Bull Creek; all of Lake Austin from Mansfield Dam to Tom Miller Dam; Lady Bird Lake; and Colorado River downstream of Longhorn Dam.

Numerous reports of fallen tree limbs had fire crews busy throughout the day on Saturday, along with their normal firefighting duties. On Twitter, fire officials posted pictures showing some of the scenes to which they were called on Saturday:

Much of the area was placed under the full range of flooding alerts—advisories, warning and watches—along with notifications of strong wind. The National Weather Service issued several of these notices lasting through Sunday and through the week:

• Flash flood warning until 5 a.m. Sunday for Travis and Hays counties.
• A flash flood waning until 4:45 a.m. Sunday for Bastrop, Caldwell and Hays counties.
• Flash flood watch until 7 a.m. Monday for Bell and Milam counties.
• Flash flood watch until 7 p.m. Wednesday for Williamson, Travis, Blanco, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties.
• A flood warning from 2:07 p.m. Sunday until 1 a.m. Tuesday for Travis County.
• Flood warning from 2:24 p.m. Sunday until 6:36 a.m. Thursday for Bastrop County.
• Flood warning from 5:48 p.m. Sunday until 9:07 a.m. Thursday for Bastrop County.
• Tropical warning until 10:12 p.m. Thursday for Bastrop County.
• A tropical storm warning until 10:12 p.m. Thursday for Caldwell County.
• Tropical storm warning until 1:29 p.m. Friday for Hays County.
• A wind advisory until 7 a.m. Sunday for Travis and Williamson counties.

The meteorological nomenclature can be confusing and difficult to distinguish and interpret. Here's what each of the terms mean:

• A flood warning is issued when the hazardous weather event is imminent or already happening. Action is highly urged, such as taking higher ground.
• A flash flood warning is issued when a flash flood is imminent or occurring in the warned area. A flash flood is a sudden, violent flood after a heavy rain, or occasionally after a dam break. Rainfall intensity and duration, topography, soil conditions, and ground cover contribute to flash flooding.
• A tropical storm warning alerts to hurricane conditions, and are issued 36 hours in advance of the anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds.
• A wind Advisory is generally issued by the National Weather Service when there are sustained winds of 31 miles per hour to 39 miles per hour and/or gusts of 46 miles per hour to 57 miles per hour over land.

And that rain shows no signs of letting up. In the last 24 hours alone, just over seven inches have been dumped in Austin, four inches in Cedar Park. The National Weather Service has forecast high levels of precipitation continuing through this week:

• From 10 inches to 20 inches of rain east of Interstate 35 through at least Wednesday.
• Between eight to 15 inches of rain in Austin metro, with isolated higher amounts possible.
• Some five to ten inches of rainfall in San Antonio metro, with isolated higher amounts possible.
• Up to six inches of rain across the Hill Country.

As the rains continued unabated into Sunday, more low water crossings were closed to motorists. According to ATXfloods.com, 373 crossings out of 1,783 were closed as of early Sunday. For a tally of rain measurements and lake levels in the area, visit the Lower Colorado River Authority Hydromet page by clicking here.

>>> Image via Wikimedia Commons