Weekend weather could bring serious flooding

By LPR Staff

Editor/POST-REGISTER

While most eyes in the region are turned on the disastrous Bastrop County Hidden Pines fires, many are also looking to the skies, from which relief could come as early as Thursday evening.

According to Caldwell County Emergency Management Coordinator Martin Ritchey, recent weather models show a sys

tem moving through Central Texas this weekend that could bring with it up to 10 inches of rain in some areas – a weather event on par with the nightmare Memorial Day weekend flooding event.

“The situation right now is very fluid,” Ritchey said on Wednesday morning. “We’re talking about the weather, and these kinds of situations always change very quickly. However, we have issued warnings to all of our first responders to have their teams on alert.”

Because of this summer’s drought, Ritchey said that flooding, if it comes, may be mostly in the form of fast runoff from parched, packed land. However, because most area stock tanks and wet-weather creeks have run dry, he said the rain, if it comes, has somewhere to go, which may help Caldwell County avoid the worst of the flooding.

“Back in May, all of the tanks and creeks were full, and that caused a lot of the problems we had then,” he said. “Now, the land is dry, and the tanks are empty, so that runoff will have a place to be collected before it causes any significant flooding – we hope.”

Still, Ritchey said the rains expected Thursday night into Friday morning, and again Friday night into Saturday morning, have the potential to create situational flash flooding and road flooding situations. Drivers are encouraged to take great caution in areas known for flooding, and not to attempt to drive through any water, in the event it should course over area streets and roads.

Because the worst of the rains are expected to the east and southeast of Caldwell County, rather than the north and northwest as in May, the danger of floods along the San Marcos and Blanco Rivers is significantly decreased. However, if the air mass dictating the weather patterns shifts, both rivers could catch excessive amounts of runoff, possibly mirroring the pattern seen during the Memorial Day floods.

“Over the next few days, we will know more about where this system is going and what it will do,” he said. “For the time being, we’re just keeping a careful eye on it, hoping for the best and getting prepared, just in case.”

Current weather forecasts from The Weather Channel indicate a 100 percent chance of thunderstorms throughout the day on Thursday, with a 60 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms on Friday, increasing to 80 percent on Saturday. It is not clear, at this time, how the weather will impact the standoff between the Lockhart Lions and the Boerne-Champion Chargers on Friday night.

Under UIL rules, games must be delayed for no less than 30 minutes, if lightning strikes are detected within 25 miles of the stadium. Therefore, it is possible that rain delays could have an impact on the game, which will likely determine the District 27-5A runner up, and could secure the Lions’ run at a playoff berth.

If rain falls without lightning, the game will go on as scheduled, with kickoff set at 7:30 p.m.

For updates on the changing weather conditions in Lockhart and Caldwell County, follow the Caldwell County Office of Emergency Management of Facebook, or follow us online at www.post-register.com.