Llano River floods Highland Lakes

Muddy water, debris, and foam can be seen in Lake LBJ from Lookout Mountain in Kingsland on July 24, 2024, amid Llano River flooding. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
The Llano River reached its highest level since the destructive flood of October 2018 in the early morning hours of July 24. The Lower Colorado River Authority opened floodgates on two Highland Lakes dams to accommodate the immense amount of water flowing downstream toward Lake Travis.
The river crested at 17.2 feet at the Llano city dam at around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, putting it into the category of “moderate flooding,” according to the National Weather Service. This is the highest the river has reached since October 2018, when it hit 40.17 feet.
Since data collection began in the 1950s, the Llano River has rarely reached over 17 feet. Wednesday marks the 11th-highest recorded crest for the river at the Llano city dam.
The river’s rise is attributed to several inches of rain that fell in less than 24 hours in the western reaches of the Llano River watershed between Monday and Tuesday. Some LCRA rain gauges in Kimble, Edwards, Gillespie, and Kerr counties registered 3-7 inches of rain in that timeframe.
Wet weather had been on the radar since at least July 17, when LCRA meteorologist Bob Rose forecast significant rain for Central Texas throughout this week.
“Looking ahead to (July 22-28), forecasts are pointing to an unsettled weather pattern across the region, with continued chances for rain through late week as the trough of low pressure remains stationary over the southern plains and northern Texas,” reads his report.
The NWS issued a flood warning for Llano County on Tuesday as the Llano River swelled near Junction in Kimble County to tens of thousands of cubic-feet per second. An LCRA river gauge in Junction measured the flow of the river at over 79,000 cfs at around 7:40 p.m. Tuesday.
That Junction water surged downstream to Llano, reaching its peak flow of just over 58,000 cfs at around 1:40 a.m. Wednesday.
The Llano River had been flowing at approximately 580 cfs prior to the flooding.
On Wednesday, the LCRA opened two floodgates on Wirtz Dam and three gates on Max Starcke Dam to allow the water to pass through Lake LBJ without damaging waterfront property.
The water from the Llano River flooding is destined for Lake Travis. Travis has already risen over 2 feet since the flooding began, up from 634.77 feet above mean sea level on Tuesday to 637.16 msl on Wednesday.
According to NWS meteorologist Cory Vanpelt, the rain in Central Texas and the Llano River flooding are not normal for a Hill Country summer.
“We’ve had some really intense rainfall in a short amount of time, especially out in that area west of Llano,” he told DailyTrib.com. “This is not normal.”
In recent summers, the Llano River had ceased to flow over the Llano city dam in June 2022, and the Kingsland Slab was bone-dry in August 2023.