A cold front that is moving in Saturday is expected to bring thunderstorms to the region,
A cold front moving into the Austin area Saturday morning will likely bring thunderstorms to the region, making for a wet kick-off at the Longhorns’ home football game this afternoon.
But it won’t actually be very cold, National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Platt said. Temperatures should still reach the mid
80s all weekend, with overnight lows no cooler than
the lower 70s. However, storms developing along the front could bring between 1 and 3 inches of rain to the Austin area through Sunday. Higher totals are possible in isolated areas to the west, including Kerrville and Fredericksburg, where as much as 6
inches could fall, forecasters said. A flash flood watch is in effect in several Hill Country counties — including Blanco, Burnet, Llano and Gillespie — through 1 p.m. Saturday.
Some urban and small stream flooding is possi-
ble, and low water cross- ings could be closed.
“Our concern at this time is heavy rainfall,” Platt said. “It has been raining a lot. A lot of areas are wet. It won’t take much rainfall to result in quick runoff and a possi- ble flood threat.”
Parts of South Austin have already gotten about 2 inches of rain this week, according to gauges at Slaughter and Onion creeks monitored by the Lower Colorado River Authority. By Friday, Marble Falls had gotten 3.29 inches, Dripping Springs 2.67 inches and Florence in William- son County 1.93 inches, the gauges show.
Forecasters were not cer- tain on Friday when the front would hit the Austin area, but Platt said arrival was likely Saturday before 1 p.m. The weather service has put rain chances at 80 percent in the day, with chances declin- ing to 30 percent at night and through Sunday. Cloudy skies are likely all weekend, and Platt said it might still be humid but not as bad as it has been during the past week.
No severe weather threats like tornadoes or hail are expected with the storms,
meteorologists said. However, some lightning and gusty winds are possible.
University of Texas Athletics spokesman John Bianco said the football teams will be watching conditions leading up to the game to ensure the tens of thousands of people expected at Royal-Memorial Stadium remain safe.
“If there is lightning in the area, we will alert fans to seek shelter immediately and, if the game is underway, go into a weather delay,” Bianco said. “Otherwise, if there is a normal rain storm, it shouldn’t hinder any activities on game day.”
Regardless of what happens with the weather this weekend, organizers for the 38th Annual Fall Pecan Street Festival say the festival will continue downtown as normal — rain or shine. They said they will be putting out any necessary weather updates on the festival’s social media channels and at the event, warning people to take cover if there is lightning or high winds.
“Everyone’s safety is our top priority,” organizer Debbie Russell said in a state- ment.
The upside to the persistent rain is that it has helped relieve drought conditions, which as of Friday were only affecting 60 percent of the state, compared with 80 percent just a month ago, the latest U.S. Drought Monitor data show.
Travis County is still con-
sidered abnormally dry, and portions of Williamson County are in moderate drought, but Central Texas as a whole has been relieved of the severe and extreme drought conditions it expe- rienced this summer.
Lake levels, too, are slowly rising. The Lower Colorado River Authority is reporting that although Lake Travis is still 6½ feet below what is normal for this time or year, that number is up slightly from a few weeks ago and continuing to rise.
Despite the recent rainfall, Austin is still under Stage 1 water restrictions, meaning some outdoor use is limited to assigned days and times. Five boat docks at Lake Travis are still closed because of the receding water line.
Forecasters say this latest cold front will move out of the area on Monday, but
another front could be coming next week.
Some rain could persist through next Friday, mostly as a result of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, Platt said. The weather service has put rain chances Monday at 20 percent, Tuesday at 40 percent and Wednesday at 60 percent.
‘It has been raining a lot. A lot of areas are wet. It won’t take much rainfall to result in quick runoff and a possible flood threat.’
Eric Platt National Weather Service meteorologist