Half a foot of rain pelted the city of Austin and the surrounding area last night, with rainfall totals topping out at seven inches in the Walnut Creek area and Downtown Austin receiving a bit less than five inches of rain.
The National Weather Service’s flash flood warning for Travis and Williamson Counties expired before 5 a.m., but the city’s still tackling flooded roadways in Spicewood Springs. Additionally, Austin-Travis County EMS used a helicopter to evacuate 13 campers stranded on the Colorado River, dropping them safely near Webberville Road. Below, you can view the latest flood updates, and a list of downed trees, delayed public transportation and power outages in Austin.
MetroRail trains between Martin Luther King and Downtown are not running. Buses are on hand to take rides from Martin Luther King Blvd. to Downtown. Capitol Metro will post updates on closed or delayed routes and reopened routes on Twitter.
Twelve low water crossing stations are still closed, including several blocks of Spicewood Springs Road, and parts of Sumac Lane and Cypress Lane in Cedar Park. Traffic is being rerouted around the closed water crossing stations. Northbound Research to Mopac ramp have reopened after being shutdown because of high water. You can check out a full map of road closures in the Austin area here.
Despite the nearly half-foot rain totals in some parts of Austin last night, the storms last night didn't make a significant impact on the water levels in Lakes Buchanan and Travis, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority. Waller and Walnut Creeks were the most affected, each receiving about 7 inches of rain.
Austin Energy says 950 customers are without power this morning. You can view a full list of outages here.
Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services say they've rescued 13 campers from the Dallas area this morning. The campers used boats to get to an island on the Colorado River, but became stranded when the tide washed away their boats. The campers were uninjured and were dropped off by an EMS rescue helicopter at an open lot near Webberville Road.
We'll continue updating this post as conditions change.
