Texas Hill Country slip-sliding away

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Road under water in Boerne, Texas at 10:15 am June 28, 2007

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BOERNE, TEXAS -- Heavy rains continue to pound the Texas Hill Country today. Boerne, a small texas town 75 miles southwest of Austin and 35 miles Northeast of San Antonio escaped the flooding yesterday that hit Marble Falls and Austin, but as of noon today, Boerne was forced to contend with six inches of rain in 12 hours, with no lull predicted. In fact, if the weather forecast holds true, the Texas Hill Country can expect steady rain for the next five days.

More than a one and one half feet of rain caused heavy damage in Marble Falls yesterday, with another ten inches forecast for today. Three bridges were washed out in the Marble Falls/Kingsland area. At this time, Marble Falls is still without safe drinking water and residents are urged to boil their water. Marble Falls is about 40 miles northwest of Austin.

Austin also took a beating yesterday. According to meteorologist Troy Kimmell in a story published in the Daily Texan, "The long-range outlook from the National Weather Service is predicting above-average rainfall for the next two weeks. We're getting more rain because we're in a stagnant weather pattern, which isn't that unusual. What is certainly historic is when you start getting 19 inches of rainfall in one night, like Marble Falls last [Tuesday] night."

Today, water-logged San Antonio began closing roads and barricading low, flood-prone areas. The city is urging people to stay off the roads and to not cross any submerged street. Fines starting at $400.00 will be assessed to any person(s) requiring road rescue.

The National Weather Service Issued the following Flash Flood Watch at 1:00 PM CCT:

"Issued at: 1:00 PM CDT 6/28/07, expires at: 4:00 AM CDT 6/29/07

Flash Flood Watch now in effect through Friday afternoon. The flash flood watch is in effect for all of south central texas, including the following counties: Atascosa, Bandera, Bastrop, Bexar, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, De Witt, Dimmit, Edwards, fayette, Frio, Gillespie, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Hays, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kinney, Lavaca, Lee, Llano, Maverick, Medina, Real, Travis, Uvalde, Val Verde, Williamson, Wilson and Zavala.

Through 4 pm cdt Friday afternoon:

Showers and thunderstorms will continue across south central Texas for the remainder of this afternoon into this evening. Showers and thunderstorms will decrease in coverage tonight; however, another upper level disturbance is expected to move south across the region late tonight into Friday. This disturbance will trigger another round of showers and thunderstorms across the watch area. Rainfall totals will average 3 to 5 inches with amounts of 8 to 10 inches possible by Friday afternoon. Grounds across the region are saturated so any additional rainfall will be quick to runoff and will lead to flash flooding.

People in the watch area should continue to be aware of the possibility for heavy rainfall. Avoid low lying areas and areas prone to flooding. Motorists in the watch area are advised to avoid areas where water covers the road and do not drive around barricades. Turn around, Don't drown!

A flash flood watch means flash flooding is possible in or near the watch area. If you are in the watch area, plan now for what you will do if flash flooding develops. Stay informed and be ready to act if you see flooding or if a flash flood warning is issued."