Posted on 10/18/2018 7:15:41 AM PDT by janetjanet998
Background: Over the past 3 days widespread rains of 6-10 have fallen on the Colorado river watershed above Austin. You may have seen amazing video of the Llano River wiping out homes and bridges. The llano river hit its highest level since 1935 with 300,000 cfs of water flowing into the CO River above Lake Travis at one point, This combined with other runoff caused Lake Travis to rise over 30 feet in 2 days!!
The current level at Lake Travis is over 701 feet with many homes flooded already...5th highest of all time
Llona river has receded with only 15,000 CFs now. Above the mouth of the LLona river is lake Manfield which was holding back water until after the rivers feeding in Lake Travis recede
They opened a record 8 floodgates on that Dam and 60,000 cfs is now flowing out,,this combined with other runoff means 90,000 cfs is still flowing into Lake Travis
Lake Travis now has 4 floodgates opened with outflow of 28,000 cfs. The record number is 6 gates in 1957. They are planning to open up to another 4 gates today which will cause flooding problems downstream for a record of 8 gates opened!!
with 90,000 inflow in and only 28,000 out Lake Travis is still rising about a foot every 6 hours 701.43 right now with a rise of about a foot every 6 hours
LCRA has been behind the curve.. first saying Lake travis will peak 690-695 then 695-700
now 705 to 710ft which will be around the record of just over 710 feet
The top of the spillway over on the Dam at lake Travis is about 714 feet,
Forecast is More heavy rains for the next week
NWS DISCUSSION
WITH THE SATURATED SOILS ACROSS PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS AND THE CONTINUED WET FORECAST THIS REMAINS A DANGEROUS SITUATION AS RAINFALL FROM THE LAST FEW DAYS CONTINUES TO WORK ITS WAY THROUGH AREA RIVERS. THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY ANNOUNCED THAT BY MID-DAY THURSDAY UP TO 8 FLOOD GATES AT MANSFIELD DAM COULD BE OPENED (4 ARE CURRENTLY RELEASING ABOUT 25,000 CFS DOWN THE COLORADO) TO MOVE SOME OF THE WATER FROM LAKE TRAVIS DOWN THE COLORADO. LAKE TRAVIS, AS OF 3AM IS AT JUST OVER 700 FEET MSL, THE 6TH HIGHEST THE LAKE HAS EVER BEEN (VISIT THE NWS AHPS PAGE AND SEARCH FOR MSDT2 TO VIEW THE OTHER PAST CRESTS). THE DEVILS RIVER IN VAL VERDE COUNTY, THE NUECES RIVER IN DIMMIT COUNTY, AND THE FRIO RIVER IN FRIO COUNTY ALL CONTINUE TO BE IN FLOOD THIS MORNING AS WELL.
WE URGE RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS TO MONITOR CLOSELY THE WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS AS ANY RAINFALL AMOUNTS COULD LEAD TO ADDITIONAL FLASH FLOODING OR RIVER FLOODING. ALSO, THOSE ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER SHOULD MONITOR INFORMATION COMING FROM THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY CONCERNING RELEASES FROM AREA LAKES AND TAKE NEEDED ACTIONS TO PROTECT LIVES AND PROPERTY ALONG THE COLORADO.
updated info https://floodstatus.lcra.org/#llevels
I should note that LCRA isn’t following its own flood protocol with states that only 30,000 cfs outlow until the lake hits 710
I believe they are concerned that there is a chance the Lake could over top the spillway
I should note: the Max outflow of Lake Travis is around 100,000 cfs which they will only do if the Dam is in Danger
I suspect the outflows from Lake Buchanan will be redcued soon
note”
Hope Cen-Tejas is high and dry. Got these the last couple days:
we got ten inches this week. Lake Travis is nearing an all time high having risen 30 in something like 48 hours. Thats a 65 mile long and deep lake. Dams up the Colorado River west of Austin.
It may go over the spillway which in its 80 odd years I dont believe has ever happened.
And this:
I live around 800 above sea level. All this is going on around 650 50 750 ten miles away. But, its huge. Hundreds of boats and docks got washed down the river, bridges destroyed that had been around 75 years and many helicopter rescues. I havent heard of anyone killed yet.
Thanks for posting this.
Since the first of September rainfall amounts have been much higher than normal here in the Texas Hill Country.
Things could get worse before they get any better.
edit Note: The Dam about the Llano river is Buchanan Dam
local news link
https://www.kvue.com/
lake levels
https://floodstatus.lcra.org/#llevels
river flows
https://hydromet.lcra.org/
“we got ten inches this week”
Yes and it was very widespread over much of the basin..plus its not summer and there is less vegetation to help absorb runoff
We had a dry summer here in DFW, enough to wipe out a bunch of my lawn. October, on the other hand, has been pretty much nonstop rain. That’s pretty much the way it works here in Texas. You get one or the other.
DFW airport 23.89 inches since Sept 1st normal 4.65
11.2 month to date
Texas is a desert with an flood every once in awhile.
It is terrible. You folks in California should move some where else.
I’ve lived in Austin since 1983 and remember the 1991 flooding of Lake Travis. We walked to the midway point across Mansfield Dam and were amazed at the amount of water they were letting out (I believe only 6 of the gates were opened at that time). This recent series of storms, by comparison, seems to be much more severe and I hope LCRA can manage this properly.
Not sure of exact situation at Canyon Lake but bulletins have been issued for New Braunfels/Guadeloupe River and other points some distance from Austin. More rain expected today.
well LCRA has been behind the curve prediction wise...and didn’t take into account the extreme rainfall at the currect time and followed it by the book. they could ave opened the 4 gates on Lake travis earlier . but then again with 350,000 cfs comning in a few 10.000 cfs isn’t going to do much
the book
https://www.lcra.org/water/floods/Pages/key-elevations-for-lake-travis-during-floods.aspx
Canyon Lake is currently at 913.6, almost 4 over Full. Flood pool is 943.
Canyon was about 7 below Full, just over two weeks ago (and throughout the summer).
Does this mean that the Austin area drought caused by man-made global warming is over?
Can we hope that bright blue Austin will be washed out of red Texas?
Inflow to lake buchanan has fallen to 38,000 cfs outflows still 60,000 so lake is slowly falling
IMO they may reduce and stop the outflows there the next day or so ro reduce inflows to Travis
all depends on Rain of course
source
https://hydromet.lcra.org/
Nice try, but Im on my way.
Anyone is better than Nancy.
Perhaps even more important (for the long term outlook) for those of use from the San Antonio-Bexar Comale County area since the 1960’s, is that the Edwards Aquifer is now at all-time HIGH levels.
Springs that have never flowed since the Spanish arrived are now passing water all over the place.
In the 70’s and 80’s all of South Texas feared we were draining the Edwards Aquifer, and that San Antonio and other cities would go dry.
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