Flash Flood — Travis, Texas

2014-09-18 · near Marshall Ford, Travis, Texas

Event narrative

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding requiring a swift water rescue at Fritz Hughes Park. A Travis County Sheriffs Deputy was reported missing around 1 AM after she called in by radio that her patrol car was being swept away by fast moving water. The 35 year old Deputy had been on patrol checking a low water crossing near the 3400 block of Fritz Hughes Park Road near Lake Austin. Her car was recovered on Thursday and her body was finally found Friday afternoon. Lower Colorado River Authority Rain gauge network reported rains in the area that totaled nearly 4 inches in 30 minutes.

Wider weather episode

The remnants of Tropical Storm Odile continued to pump mid-level moisture into South Central Texas and a stationary boundary moved into this tropical moisture. This produced thunderstorms that in turn produced heavy rain and led to flash flooding.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (30.3800, -97.9100)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 543807. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.