Flash Flood — Travis, Texas

2013-10-13 · near West Lake Hills, Travis, Texas

Event narrative

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding in the Rollingwood and Sunset Valley sections of Austin. Rainfall totals were as much as 11.33 inches in Travis County near Barton Creek and Loop 360 in west Austin. There were several high water rescues in both Rollingwood and Sunset Valley. Major flooding was reported along Williamson Creek near Heartwood Drive in south Austin. One fatality was discovered along Williamson Creek near Heartwood drive. The fatality was a homeless man. Several homes along Heartwood drive sustained considerable flood damage and damage was reported along Lady Bird Lake and Barton Springs Pool.

Wider weather episode

An upper level trough caused southwesterly winds aloft that transported tropical moisture from the Pacific across Mexico into Texas. Surface flow from the southeast brought in low level Gulf moisture. A cold front dropped through central Texas and provided a focus for showers and thunderstorms that produced heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding. Significant flash flooding was seen across portions of South Austin where rainfall totals exceeded 10 inches. Down over the Rio Grande Plains, the same system produced a rain area that exceeded 17 inches near the towns of Crystal City and Carrizo Springs. This flooding rain went into the Nueces watershed and led to major flooding along the Nueces from Asherton all the way down to Lake Corpus Christi.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (30.2819, -97.7735)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 481159. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.