Flash Flood Watch For Battered, Already Soaked Austin

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The chance of rain in Austin being something of a foregone conclusion for Wednesday — with a probability of precipitation at 100 percent with an accompanying flash flood watch — has heightened anxiety added rainfall could have the effect of prolonging the lifting of a mandatory boil-water notice currently in effect.

Given the already soaked landscape after heavy, flood-inducing rains last week, National Weather Service officials issued a flash flood watch in effect from 1 a.m. on Wednesday through that evening. Williamson County is included in that flash flood watch, along with Bandera, Bexar, Blanco, Burnet,Comal, Edwards, Gillespie, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Kinney, Llano,Medina, Real, Travis, Uvalde and Val Verde.

A flash flood watch is issued by the National Weather Service when conditions are favorable for flash flooding in flood-prone areas, usually when grounds are already saturated from recent rain.

The developing conditions come in the wake of historic flooding last week that tainted the city's water supply with heavier-than-usual volumes of debris, mud and silt. The resulting compromised water quality prompted water officials to issue a boil-water notice over fears of bacteria accumulation. Austin residents also have been asked to curtail their water use to accommodate water plant treatment filtration.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said added rainfall could extend the time before Austin residents can stop boiling their tap water as a precaution.

But Mother Nature seems indifferent to such concerns. Showers with possible thunderstorms are possible after 1 p.m., according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The 100 percent chance of forecast precipitation will bring new rainfall amounts between one and two inches, according to the NWS.

The nearby specter of Hurricane Willa, a storm forecasters originally classified as "life-threatening" and "potentially catastrophic" that made landfall in western Mexico could send rain down Texas way, adding to local worries. The hurricane mercifully weakened after landfall, quickly becoming a tropical storm, but its force could still fuel local storm formations.

Related story: No Clear Timeline Set For Lifting Austin Boil-Water Mandate

The chance of rain will continue through Wednesday night, with a 60 percent chance of precipitation forecast. Additional rainfall amounts are predicted between a quarter and a half to an inch.

Things will improve by Thursday and into the weekend, with sunny skies predicted until Sunday. The high of 67 degrees predicted for Thursday will increase steadily into Friday an Saturday — highs near 75 and 80, respectively _ will complement the sunny skies, with Sunday predicted to also be sunshine-filled with a high near 78 degrees.

But it's the hump — even more daunting than usual when it's simply an impediment to reaching the weekend — we all need to get past. Throughout the water-bereft city, residents will no doubt cast a wary eye to the heavens, hoping for minimal rainfall and an imminent end to the boil-water notice. But only time — and mercurial Mother Nature herself — will tell.

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