Flash Flood — Comal, Texas

2010-06-09 · near New Braunfels, Comal, Texas

Event narrative

A storm survey along the Guadalupe River from River Road down into the city of New Braunfels showed devastation along the banks of the river. The river rose some 20+ feet in less than 2 hours sweeping campers, cars, trailers, tubes, and other debris down the river toward New Braunfels and Seguin. Campsites downstream of the 3rd River Road crossing where demolished and swept clean due to the power of water. The campsites along the stretch of River Road near Camp Hueco Springs were especially hit hard as Elm creek flooded and brought tremendous water into the Guadalupe. A death occurred at this location as a man was swept downstream. Other campers were rescued down in New Braunfels after being swept miles downstream. Tubing businesses along the Guadalupe suffered major losses along with homes from Gruene down into Seguin. Thirty vehicles and 14 RVs were removed from the River in Comal County. One hundred twenty-one homes and businesses suffered damage. Damage estimate does not include other insured losses.

Wider weather episode

An upper level area of low pressure combined with deep boundary layer moisture to produce a slow moving mesoscale convective system. This MCS produced excessive rainfall from Atascosa to Comal counties. CoCoRAHs observers reported 7.81 inches of rain near Pleasanton and 11.30 inches near New Braunfels. Heavy rain began shortly after midnight over portions of southern Comal County. Heavy rains in excess of 11+ inches fell in the area centered between the Guadalupe River and Highway 46 between 2 am and 8 am. This runoff produced a massive flash flood along the Guadalupe primarily downstream of the 3rd river crossing. Hardest hit areas were the campsites along River Road and areas directly along the riverbank in Gruene, New Braunfels, Lake Dunlap, Lake McQueeny, and Seguin. Total losses are estimated into the 10s of millions of dollars. One death occurred with several swift water rescues. Dozens of campers, vehicles, and boats were lost in the resulting flood along the Guadalupe.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (29.6942, -98.0928)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 245139. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.