Austin could see booming thunderstorms every day until Thursday, the National Weather Service says.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued several ground stops at the Austin airport due to the weather. Flight delays could continue over the next several days until severe weather lets up.
The rain is thanks to a weather pattern called an “omega block” — a phenomenon that occurs when two low-pressure systems sit on either side of a high-pressure ridge, effectively trapping weather in place and disrupting the usual east-west flow.
Sometimes, an omega block can mean days of sunshine. But for this week in Austin, it means thunderstorms are likely Monday, Tuesday and possibly Wednesday. People across Central Texas could see heavy rains, hail, damaging winds and even isolated tornadoes.
But, if you’re eagerly awaiting a roaring thunderstorm in your neighborhood, meteorologists want you to chill.
The NWS can’t accurately pinpoint where any particular storm will form — and not every inch of Austin is expected to get rain, NWS meteorologist Bob Fogarty said.
“We may get a good rain in Austin or parts of Austin, and we may not," he said. "That’s just the nature of these springtime storms.”
If you miss out, meteorologists kindly ask that you don’t blame the forecast, or the elusive “rain dome.”
“I’ve heard of the rain dome many times,” Meteorologist Emily Heller said. “That’s just a lot of people’s perception more than anything.”
If you do experience severe weather, find resource below on how to stay updated.
- Follow the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio’s account on X for the latest weather updates.
- Follow Austin Emergency Management on Facebook or X for local notifications and tips.
- Go to WARN Central Texas to sign up for emergency alerts.
- Visit Austin Energy’s website to report a power outage or see a map of current outages. Bluebonnet Electric Co-op, Pedernales Electric Co-op and Oncor have their own outage maps.
- Lower Colorado River Authority's HydroMet monitoring system: The website allows you to check rainfall totals for the area in near real time. You can also look at lake levels, streamflow and river stage.
- ATXFloods.com: Flooding can make low-lying roads dangerous to drive on. Find out which roads in Central Texas are closed due to flooding here.
KUT also has a list of useful accounts on X that post about local weather.
