Highland Lakes under flood watch
High water can easily sweep away cars at low-water crossings as shown here in September 2022 when a driver attempted to cross CR 304 in Kingsland during a flood. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch in south Central Texas for May 12-14, 2023. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for most of south Central Texas, including Burnet and Llano counties. Heavy rains could bring rapid flooding between the evening of Friday, May 12, and Saturday night. Depending on developing conditions, the flood watch and rains could continue into Sunday.
“A slow-moving storm system will bring several rounds of rain across south Central Texas from early Friday evening through at least early Saturday evening,” reads the NWS flood watch. “Some of the rainfall rates could be very intense, and much of the area has a chance to see 3- to 6-inch rainfall amounts by Saturday evening.”
Six inches would be multiple months’ worth of rainfall, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority Hydromet, which shows a range of roughly 3.8 inches to 11 inches of total rainfall for the region since Jan. 1, 2023.
“Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations,” according to the flood watch. “Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks. Extensive street flooding and flooding of creeks and rivers are possible.”
WHAT TO DO AND NOT DO
The NWS offers these tips and facts to consider in the event of flooding:
- Get out of areas subject to flooding. This includes dips, low spots, canyons, washes, and low-water crossings.
- Avoid already flooded and high-velocity flow areas. Do not attempt to cross flowing streams.
- If driving, be aware that the road bed may not be intact under flood waters. Turn around and go another way. Never drive through flooded roadways.
- If the vehicle stalls, leave it immediately and seek higher ground. Rapidly rising water could engulf the vehicle and its occupants and sweep them away.
- Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize flood dangers.
- Do not camp or park your vehicle along streams and washes, particularly during threatening conditions.
- Six inches of rushing water can sweep an average person off of their feet. Two feet of rushing water can float a car.
WHO TO CONTACT
Pedernales Electric Cooperative is preparing to respond to potential power outages due to the coming storms. The co-op’s customers can call 888-883-3379, text “outage” to 25022, log into SmartHub, or download PEC’s SmartHub app to report outages and keep up with developments.
Customers of Central Texas Electric Cooperative can call 1-800-900-2832 for assistance or visit CTEC’s online outage center.
