NWS issues flood advisory in Travis and surrounding counties after unexpectedly heavy rain
This story has been updated to add photo gallery.
The Austin area has seen a potentially record-setting amount of rainfall on Tuesday, causing the National Weather Service to issue a flood advisory for Travis and adjacent counties.
Weather records show the area has received anywhere from just under an inch of rain to nearly 3 inches, depending on the location. By 2:20 p.m., Camp Mabry had received just under an inch while Austin Bergstrom-International Airport had received about 2.96 inches. That may be a new daily record for rainfall on Feb. 11, said meteorologist Matthew Brady, with the previous record being 1.8 inches in 1977.
The area received slightly more rain Tuesday than had been anticipated, said Harrison Tran, a meteorologist with the weather service's Central Texas office. Meteorological models had predicted a "line" of storms would nestle themselves along the I-35 corridor, Tran said, though there was uncertainty about where exactly the they would settle.
The flood advisory cautioned that some minor flooding could develop in low-lying areas or those with poor drainage, causing "urban and small stream flooding." The Austin Fire Department reported just before 11:40 a.m. that three people and a dog had been swept downstream in floodwaters in South Austin, while inside their tent. All were safely recovered, the Fire Department said in a post on X.
Road closures due to flooding were minimal. One county road crossing near Brushy Creek in Pflugerville, was closed Tuesday morning, according to ATX Floods. Rainfall and thunder is expected to taper out Tuesday afternoon, with another round of storms potentially developing overnight from midnight to daybreak, Brady said.
Partly sunny skies and warmer temperatures are expected to return Wednesday, before a cold front brings early morning lows in the 30s on Thursday. The daytime high is anticipated to be in the upper 40s.
Valentine's Day will see a slight warm-up, with highs in the upper 50s, before a brief spell of warm, spring-like weather on Saturday, with highs in the mid 70s. Sunday will return to typical winter weather, with temperatures in the low 50s.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Heavy rainfall in Austin potentially sets new daily record at airport
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