National Weather Service
Friday’s forecast for Austin: There is a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms today, and that risk rises to 60 percent tonight, the National Weather Service said. It will be cloudy, with a high near 70 today and a low around 57 tonight.
Rainfall may briefly become heavy tonight and may result in some ponding on roadways and other minor flooding impacts, the service said. The same risk is possible Saturday morning.
A cold front is moving across Central Texas, the service said. It’s expected to be cloudy Saturday, with a high of 65 and a low of 51. There will be a 60 percent chance of rain.
Sunday will be sunnier, but also cooler, with a high of 63 and a low of 48, the service said.
Although much of the rain expected Thursday night into early Friday morning did not materialize, parts of Bastrop County did get about an inch of rain, according to rain gauges from the Lower Colorado River Authority.
Rainy weekend weather, and the aftermath of the floods
According to this very handy five-day planner published by the National Weather Service, we’re probably in for scattered showers this afternoon and Saturday, with conditions getting a little better Sunday. One thing to keep in mind from here on out: the ground is getting saturated, which makes it less absorbent, which means the threat of flooding (particularly the smaller localized variety) will be higher through what’s predicted to be a relatively wet winter.
Sadly, the San Marcos Veterans Day parade, scheduled for Saturday, has been cancelled because the flooding there has led to a lack of available equipment and staffing.
The Austin City Council is meeting to discuss flooding issues, particularly in Dove Springs, which was hit for the second time in three years with catastrophic flooding on Halloween weekend. The meeting starts at 2 p.m. at City Hall, 301 W. Second Street.
On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott declared a statewide emergency in response to the recent flooding around the state. The move is intended to free up three million dollars a year to enhance flood-preparation efforts. State officials have not decided which flood-prone areas will get things like more rain gauges and other advanced-warning improvements, or better assessments of the overall flood risk. Hays County was hit particularly hard in the Memorial Day weekend floods earlier this year, however. In Bastrop County, the Lower Colorado River Authority is also already looking into beefing up its early warning systems at the behest of state Sen. Kirk Watson.
Also, in case you missed this earlier post by the Statesman’s Amanda O’Donnell, you should check out what she writes about the likelihood of tornadoes.
Lastly: if you’re interested, the all-new American-Statesman weather app is available for iPhone and Android devices. Statesman Weather features include radar, a 7-day forecast, real-time severe weather alerts, as well as the latest weather news and social sharing.
Download the free app in the Apple iTunes store, or download it in the Google Play store.
You can also search your respective app store for “Statesman Weather.”
