BurtonFitzsimmons.com

Carry your umbrellas today, there’s a 70% chance for more rain. In fact, severe storms rumbled through the area from the southwest and more possible severe weather is on the way before the sun comes back out tomorrow. The weekend ahead looks much drier…

A large supercell storm swept up the US-281 corridor from near San Antonio into western Hays and Travis counties this morning around 9am, producing heavy rain, frequent lightning and pea to golf ball sized hail as it crossed the area. A tornado has been confirmed by a trained spotter via National Weather Service reports. At 10:10am, it touched down about 12 miles west-northwest of Wimberley just off FM2325. The report that another tornado touched down southwest of Dripping Springs has not yet been confirmed. Heavy rain rates up to 2.5″ an hour were observed in the Hill Country by noon. Doppler indicates as much as 2.5″ of rain has fallen in parts of Hays and Travis county. A Flash Flood Watch continues through Saturday morning for most of the area.

A few more severe or heavy cells are possible through the afternoon into the early evening — an overall 70% chance. With the jet stream running right over Central Texas, turning of the winds with height may produce more isolated tornadoes in the strongest of storms. A Tornado Watch is also in effect for much of the area.

Later tonight, we’ll see just a few scattered showers of primarily light intensity. By tomorrow, our computer models indicate two to three inches of rain may have accumulated near Austin and San Marcos, with three to five inch totals scattered from the Western Hill Country northward.

This week’s big disturbance will get “the boot” tomorrow, pushing the rain east of our area and offering a cooler wind in its wake. The slow-moving cold front that’s basically stalled in our area will accelerate towards Houston by Saturday afternoon, delivering drier conditions in its wake.

Skies should begin clearing by midday, with low 70s Saturday rising to the low 80s on Sunday and Monday. Rain might return next Tuesday as another slow-moving trough of low pressure in the upper atmosphere slides across Texas. Today’s long-range models indicate another round of showers possible by Friday and possibly into next weekend. We’ll keep you posted…

As always, check back here and on ‘Weather on the Eights’ for updates.

Enjoy your Friday and have a wonderful weekend.

Meteorologist Burton Fitzsimmons

Winds of warmth surge our way from the Gulf of Mexico in advance of yet another strong, spring storm system. You might decide to block off some of this afternoon’s sun with your umbrella, but tomorrow we’ll be using it to deflect heavy raindrops again. Flooding, our number one weather killer, become a real possibility again through the end of the week…

Breezes from the south upwards of 10 to 20mph have been clocked so far today, with a chance for 20 to 30mph wind gusts through tomorrow. Thick morning clouds gave way to partly cloudy skies by noon, with most area thermometers at least touching 80 degrees today.

The parent disturbance can be seen swirling across the Rockies right now. Snow and heavy storms will fire from Wyoming south to the Mexico border today. Severe weather is possible in West Texas and might approach the western Hill Country by this evening. Those storms are expected to come with heavy rains and strong winds, and the most intense could contain hail and isolated tornadoes.

Our latest computer models indicate showers and thunderstorms could arrive in Gillespie county as early as sunrise Thursday. They’ll spread across I-35 through the day Thursday — an overall 50% chance. The strongest storms could bring two to three inches of rain per hour and could turn severe. As the cold front attached to this upper-air disturbance slows or stalls out near the area, those heavy rains threaten with more flooding. NOAA experts predict one to three inches of rain accumulating across I-35 through Friday morning, with isolated totals nearing four to six inches in extreme cases.

April Starts Wet… We’ll keep a 30% chance for some rain early Saturday, then skies should begin to clear out by afternoon as this active weather rolls east. Expect a warmer and drier first day of April with lots of sunshine. Today’s 8-day forecast highlights more 80s early next week. Another cold front will approach I-35 late Tuesday with a chance for storms into Wednesday.

Highland Lakes on the Rise… Since Sunday, Lake Travis has risen nearly half a foot. More flood waters will head down the Llano River through the Colorado through the day today, and these additional rains coming up with only add on more. We expect Travis to rise beyond 664′ AMSL by Sunday.

Wildflower Weekends… Help us share the beautiful colors of spring across Central Texas! Grab your camera and take some shots, then log on to www.news8austin.com/photos to upload. Be sure to include your name and the location your photo was taken. We’ll air the best Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on ‘Weather on the Eights’ through May 23rd.

Enjoy your Wednesday.

Meteorologist
Burton Fitzsimmons