Posted on 05/14/2004 8:36:35 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952
Austin area under flash flood watch until 4 p.m. today
By Dick Stanley and Sarah Coppola
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, May 14, 2004
GRANGER -- When John Finan awoke Thursday in this small community northeast of Georgetown and swung his legs onto the floor of his apartment, his feet disappeared into about 12 inches of water.
"It looked like we were in the middle of a river," Finan said.
He was one of 18 people evacuated from their homes after 5 to 12 inches of morning rain fell from intense thunderstorms that swept through northeastern Williamson County eastward to just north of Bryan-College Station, according to the National Weather Service.
Heavy rain was common in the Panhandle, North Texas and parts of Central Texas, followed by a rash of tornado watches and flood warnings. The rain came on top of an unusually wet spring, and areas throughout the state are saturated to the point where forecasters fear more rain could lead to flooding.
No serious injuries were reported Thursday, but authorities in Robertson County, about 50 miles southeast of Waco, had reports of up to 100 flooded homes, plus several high-water rescues and cars washed off roads. In Bryan, at least two homes were destroyed by a tornado.
Dozens of homes were flooded in the Robertson County town of Hearne, and the high school was closed when classrooms flooded. About 100 feet of nearby Union Pacific railroad track was closed when water inundated the rails. The rail line was not expected to reopen until Saturday.
A special water-rescue team was dispatched to help people who were stranded during the flooding. Some had to be plucked from trees.
Meteorologists feared these problems could recur today throughout Central Texas, where a flash flood watch is in effect until 4 p.m. Late Thursday, storms were being triggered around Austin by moisture drawn from the Gulf of Mexico northward by an area of low pressure.
A cold front was set to move into the Austin area overnight, causing thunderstorms along and ahead of it and producing what the National Weather Service said could be up to 7 inches of additional rain.
"The front is going to move slowly through Austin and stall just south of I-10 (tonight) into Saturday," said Lower Colorado River Authority meteorologist Bob Rose. "The threat of heavy rain will end (this) afternoon or evening."
Flooding is possible because area rivers are full, creeks and streams are running briskly and the ground is too wet to hold additional water. The year's first four months, when 14.7 inches of rain fell at Camp Mabry in West Austin, have been the wettest such period in the area since 18.72 inches fell in 1992. That May, an Austin man died in a flood.
Thursday's storms developed in the San Antonio area and moved north and east. They weakened by the time they got to Houston, but heavy rains still delayed or canceled some flights at Houston's airports, and there was minor street flooding. Many flights were delayed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, as well.
Roofs and carports were damaged in Bryan-College Station, about 80 miles northeast of Austin, where trees also were uprooted and power lines snapped, Bryan city spokesman Jay Socol said.
"Almost every roadway we have around here is under water," said Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Eddie Carmon in Bryan.
Severe thunderstorms in Mason County, in the Hill Country, dropped golfball-size hail and 2.41 inches of rain late Thursday, causing flash flooding of creeks and streams.
The storms apparently produced a tornado in a sparsely populated area of northern Gillespie County, but it was unconfirmed, authorities said.
The year's rain hasn't been all bad. It produced a nice crop of wildflowers. Peach farmers around Fredericksburg said their rain has been just right for the summer crop.
The rain also has been good news along the Rio Grande, where Falcon Lake, a 40-mile-long international reservoir, is "on its way back after 10 years of drought and low water levels," said Jimmy Dean, a biologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
In June 2003, Falcon was down 45 feet; on May 4, it was only 15 feet low.
The Edwards Aquifer's northern end in southern Travis and northern Hays counties is rising out of the Stage 1 drought it entered last fall.
The second worst flash flood I ever encountered was in Austin...I almost ended up floating down a creek in a Cadillac once..lost traction. The floating feeling is scary..Do not cross water that you do not know the depth of! The force of moving water is awesome and deceptive..
Guess the area lakes will be in good shape for the summer.
I have been on the coast the last two weekends and have been rained out/on both times. Port Aransas had over 5 inches last Saturday. Thats a fun place to be with that much water it has no where to go.
In Nov. 2001, we had quite a storm. We had to stay in our seventh period classuntil the end of school that day. Buses were late. The lights were out. And there was a small tornado along I-35. Even those who had cars weren't allowed to go to them until after it died down, which was about 6, even then it was raining hard. One normally dry creek went halfway up a school bus.
Well, It's floodin
Down in Texas.....
All of the telephone lines are down....
Scary!
Back in June 2001 tropical storm Alicison dropped 25 inches of rain on my town in one night.
and I was beginning to worry that Lake Georgetown level was gonna be below normal. Took care of that in a hurry.
We only got about 7 inches here. 20 miles north of us, they had 15-17 inches. This has been one soggy spring.
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