Update 6:45 a.m.: The City of Austin has now opened all of the low water crossings on Spicewood Springs Road around Loop 360. Low water crossings at Terry-o Lane near Ben White Boulevard.
The Lower Colorado River Authority says some rain did fall in the watershed, which will help with low lake levels. Right now, Lakes Travis and Buchanan are still sitting at about 36 percent full.
Austin Firefighters are blaming lightning on at least three overnight fires – including one at an apartment building in southeast Austin. No one was injured in the fires.
About 1,500 Austin Energy customers are without power this morning.
Elsewhere in Texas, storms knocked out power to around 17,000 customers in San Antonio and two Fort Worth firefighters were injured responding to a fire blamed on a lightning strike. Parts of East Texas and the Gulf Coast remain under a Flash Flood Watch through this afternoon.
Update 5:30 a.m.: The National Weather Service has canceled the Flash Flood Watch in effect for the Austin area and the Austin/Travis County Emergency Operations Center has deactivated.
Austin Energy now says about 1,500 customers remain without power. Less than 1,000 Pedernales Electric Company customers are without power.
Several low water crossings along Spicewood Springs Road remain closed along with a few at Terry-o Lane near Ben White Boulevard.
Here are some selected rainfall totals (so far!) via our weather partners at Time Warner Cable News:
- 4.45" Downtown Austin
- 4.32" Onion Crk @ 183
- 4.04" Austin Airport
- 3.82" Cedar Park
- 3.70" Smithville
- 3.45" Buda (Onion Crk)
- 3.17" Austin-Mabry
- 2.86" Pflugerville
- 2.65" Elgin
- 2.49" Leander
- 1.93" Lago Vista
Update 12 midnight: More than 3 .5 inches of rain fell between 10 p.m. and midnight near downtown Austin, according to the LCRA's gauge near Longhorn Dam.
A flash flood warning is in effect for most of the Austin area now until at least 1:15 a.m. Parts of Bastrop, Hays, Comal, Caldwell and Guadalupe counties are under a flash flood warning until 2:45 a.m.
Thousands are still without power. Austin Energy and Pedernales report a combined total of about 10,000 customers who lost service.
Many low water crossings remain closed as of midnight.
Update 11:30 p.m.: A flash flood warning for south central Travis and eastern Hays county is in effect until 2:15 a.m. Forecasters say between 2 and 3 inches of rain could fall over an hour, causing creeks and streams to rise, possibly flooding some roads.
Austin Energy now reports about 7,000 customers have lost power in the storm. Pedernales Electric reports more than 4,000 customers without power.
Rescuers came to the aid of a man on 5th Street downtown, who was briefly swept away by floodwaters. He was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Original story: The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for parts of Travis, Hays, Comal and Blanco counties until around 1 a.m.
Forecasters are warning of powerful thunderstorms moving slowly through the region, dumping a lot of rain in a short period of time. They're warning people to stay inside and off the roads unless absolutely necessary.
As of about 11 p.m. Monday, several low water crossings in North Austin and one in southwest Austin were closed due to water over the roadways.
Check the status of low water crossings at atxfloods.com
Meantime, Austin Energy reports about 6000 customers are without power around 11 p.m.
