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Image Gallery Click on thumbnails
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1. |
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Austin Vicinity |
July 3, 1869 |
The greatest rain known in Austin (at least until 1921)
began July 3 and lasted about 64 hours. The towns of Webberville and
Bastrop were inundated. read more... |
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Deaths and Damage: |
Lower Austin was inundated, and several people drowned. |
Max. Precipitation: |
Unknown |
Severity: |
Catastrophic |
Storm Center(s): |
Travis Co., Austin |
References:
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Ellsworth, 1923, p. 50 |
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2. |
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Central Texas |
April 29 to May 1, 1894 |
A narrow band of 5-6 in. of rain from vicinity of
Bandera, Kendall, Blanco, and Travis Counties to Lamar County
caused minor flooding. |
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Deaths and Damage: |
Unknown |
Max. Precipitation: |
Unknown |
Severity: |
Major Storm |
Storm Center(s): |
Bandera Co.
Kendall Co.
Blanco Co.
Travis Co. |
References:
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, unpub. data |
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3. |
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Panhandle and Central Texas |
April 5 to 8, 1900 |
Substantial rainfall from the Rio Grande to the
High Plains caused damage in the Colorado, Brazos, and Guadalupe
River Basins. |
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Deaths and Damage: |
McDonald Dam on the Colorado River in Austin was destroyed.
A wall of water claimed 23 lives and caused $1.25 million in
damage in Austin. |
Max. Precipitation: |
8.80 in. (Mitchell Co.)
7.10 in. (Travis Co.) |
Severity: |
Major Storm |
Storm Center(s): |
Mitchell Co., Colorado
Travis Co., Austin |
References:
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, unpub. data |
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4. |
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Central and East Texas |
December 1 to 6, 1913 |
Rainfall for the last 10 days of November averaged
4.21 in., Guadalupe River Basin; 3.74 in., Colorado River Basin;
3.53 in., Brazos River Basin; 2.98 in., Trinity River Basin;
and 4.05 in., San Antonio River Basin. These rains laid the
foundation for floods greater than any known at that time. Rains
for first few days of December were more or less continuous
but were heaviest Dec. 2-4. Rainfall Dec. 1-6 averaged 4.78
in., Guadalupe River Basin; 3.95 in., Colorado River Basin;
5.37 in., Brazos River Basin; 5.30 in., Trinity River Basin;
and 2.94 in., San Antonio River Basin. About 85 percent of the
rain fell Dec. 2-4. read more... |
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Deaths and Damage: |
Flooding resulted in 177 deaths, and losses exceeded $8.5 million. |
Max. Precipitation: |
18.80 in. (Hays Co.)
14.07 in. (Travis Co.)
13.78 in. (Williamson Co.) |
Severity: |
Catastrophic |
Storm
Center(s): |
Hays Co., San Marcos
Travis Co., Austin
Williamson Co., Leander |
References:
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Ellsworth, 1923, p. 46-47 |
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5. |
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Central and East Texas |
July 18 to 23, 1919 |
Excessive and damaging local rains occurred in parts
of Cooke County on the 19th, Travis County on the 21st, and
DeWitt County on the 23rd. |
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Deaths and Damage: |
Small streams were flooded by these rains and the damage to roads,
bridges, crops, and soil was estimated at over $2 million. |
Max. Precipitation: |
12.71 in. (DeWitt Co.)
12.43 in. (Travis Co.) |
Severity: |
Major Storm |
Storm Center(s): |
DeWitt Co., Cuero
Travis Co., Hills Ranch |
References:
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, unpub. data |
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6. |
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Central Texas |
October 12 to 17, 1925 |
The largest amounts of rainfall occurred in Washington,
Austin, Brazos, and Travis Counties. 6.68 in. on the 12th in
Washington County followed by 6.95 in. in a 24-hour period in
Austin, Travis County, on the 13th. |
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Deaths and Damage: |
Unknown |
Max. Precipitation: |
6.95 in. (Travis Co.)
6.68 in. (Washington Co.) |
Severity: |
Major Storm |
Storm Center(s): |
Travis Co., Austin
Washington Co. |
References:
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, unpub. data |
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7. |
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Southwest Texas |
June 16 to 18, 1958 |
Flooding in the Devils River Basin in the headwaters
of the Nueces and Guadalupe Rivers and in certain tributaries
to the Colorado River above Lake Travis produced peak discharges
at several streamflow-gaging stations. The heaviest rainfall
amounts reported were 6-10 in.; however, there were a few unofficial
reports of 16-20 in. |
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Deaths and Damage: |
Unknown |
Max. Precipitation: |
10.00 in. |
Severity: |
Major Storm |
Storm Center(s): |
Travis Co., Lake Travis |
References:
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Asquith and Slade, 1995; Hendricks, 1963b, p. 52-53 |
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8. |
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Austin Vicinity |
June 17 to 18, 1961 |
Flash flooding in Austin during the night June 17-18 resulted
from intense rainfall. The greatest recorded rainfall was 6.86 in.
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Deaths and Damage: |
About 300 people were evacuated from their homes in southeast Austin
when Boggy Creek overflowed its banks. |
Max. Precipitation: |
6.86 in. |
Severity: |
Major Storm |
Storm Center(s): |
Travis Co., Austin |
References:
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U.S. Geological Survey, unpub. data |
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9. |
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Central Texas |
November 23, 1974 |
Heavy rainfall in Travis County caused
flooding that claimed 13 lives and $1 million in property damages. |
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Deaths and Damage: |
Thirteen lives lost and $1 million in property
damages. |
Max. Precipitation: |
Unknown |
Severity: |
Major Storm |
Storm Center(s): |
Travis Co., Austin |
References:
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Dallas Morning News, 1999 |
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10. |
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Austin Vicinity |
May 23, 1975 |
Heavy rainfall. |
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Deaths and Damage: |
Four people drowned and about $5 million in property
damages. |
Max. Precipitation: |
Unknown |
Severity: |
Major Storm |
Storm Center(s): |
Travis Co., Austin |
References:
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Dallas Morning News, 1999 |
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11. |
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Austin Vicinity |
May 24 to 25, 1981 |
A short-duration, intense rainfall caused the worst flooding
since 1935 on many of the small watersheds in and around Austin. The
rainfall began at 9:30 p.m. May 24 and ended shortly before midnight
May 25. Some locations had more than 10 in. of rain during 4 hours.
read more... |
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Deaths and Damage: |
Thirteen people drowned in flash flooding, and property damage
was reported at $35.5 million. |
Max. Precipitation: |
10.00 in. |
Severity: |
Catastrophic |
Storm Center(s): |
Travis Co., Austin |
References:
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Massey and others, 1982; Moore and others, 1982 |
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12. |
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Central Texas |
See floodsafety.com. |
November 15, 2001 |
The storm of November 15, 2001, began
with mild to moderate rainfall over the night of November 14th
and through the morning of November 15th. At about 3:30 p.m.
on November 15th, a large thunderstorm cell began to approach
the Hays-Travis County line, with tornadoes and intense rainfall.
The tornadoes touched at various locations along the I-35 corridor
starting near Buda and the Ben White Blvd. - I-35 interchange
and continuing north and east through Travis County. The heaviest
rainfall began about 3:30 p.m. over south-central Austin in
the middle of the Slaughter Creek Basin and upper South Boggy
Creek Basin. The intense thunderstorm cells continued to track
rapidly and generally north-northeast over Barton Creek at Loop
360, West Bouldin Creek, Johnson Creek, and Shoal Creek. The
area of the most intense rainfall decreased as it tracked farther
north over the upper Little Walnut and Walnut Creek watersheds.
Although the storm gradually decreased in intensity over the
next 6 hours, it continued to produce intense rainfall.
Widespread rainfall totals typically ranged from 5 to 8 in.,
with individual reports of 10 in. and more. Much of this rain
fell within about 6 hours. Generally, the storm intensities
and flood levels were higher on the south and west sides of
Austin. Rainfall intensities exceeded the estimated 100-year
rainfall rates in some locations and caused widespread but
isolated flood damage where the drainage capacity of streets
and storm drains was exceeded by localized rainfall.
The flow measured in area creeks does not match the statistical
significance of individual maximum rainfall measurements because
the intense rainfall was not evenly distributed over all of
the watersheds. For example, the USGS estimated that the flood
peak in Onion Creek at U.S. Highway 183 was approximately
93,200 cubic feet per second, which corresponds to about a
50-year peak. Other watersheds on the south and west (for
example, Slaughter, Williamson, South Boggy, West and East
Bouldin, Barton, Bull, Johnson, and Shoal Creeks) experienced
flood peaks that correspond to a return period of 5 to 20
years. The USGS gage on Shoal Creek at W. 12th Street recorded
a peak corresponding to approximately a 10-year return period.
Watersheds on the east side of town (for example, Waller,
Boggy, Tannehill, Fort, and Buttermilk Creeks) were less affected
and experienced flood peaks corresponding to return periods
of less than 10 years. Other watersheds that flow from northwest
to east (for example, Little Walnut and Walnut Creeks) experienced
peaks corresponding to return periods of up to 10 years.
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Deaths and Damage: |
968 homes were flooded and cost of damages to public property
was 11.3 million dollars. |
Max. Precipitation: |
14.00 in. |
Severity: |
Major |
Storm Center(s): |
Travis Co |
References: |
http://tx.usgs.gov/ |
Report assisted by City of Austin.
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