Kerr County sees 4+ inches of rain overnight, but flooding remains minor so far

Parts of Kerr County saw 4 inches of rain or more overnight into Tuesday morning, but as of Tuesday morning, flooding impacts across the county remain minor, if present at all, even as the National Weather Service warns the threat is far from over.

A National Weather Service observation station in Kerrville recorded 3.14 inches of rain in the six hours ending at 12:55 a.m., followed by another 1.13 inches in the six hours ending at 6:55 a.m. — a combined total of at least 4.27 inches. Heavy rain was still falling as of the station’s 7:35 a.m. observation.

The Guadalupe River at Hunt rose in response, according to U.S. Geological Survey gauge data. The river had held steady near 7.67 feet for much of the past week before climbing overnight, peaking near 8.65 feet before receding to 8.18 feet as of 7:50 a.m. Tuesday.

The rain fell as a flash flood warning was in effect Monday night for central Kerr County, and comes as a broader flood watch remains in place for Kerr County and 20 other South Central Texas counties through 7 p.m. Thursday.

In a forecast discussion issued at 1:26 a.m. Tuesday, National Weather Service meteorologists in Austin/San Antonio said numerous flood advisories and warnings were ongoing Monday evening and that the trend was expected to continue overnight as the region remained locked in what forecasters called an extremely moist airmass. Forecasters revised their rainfall outlook upward, now calling for widespread totals of 2 to 6 inches through Wednesday, with isolated amounts of 10 to 15 inches possible in the watch area — particularly over the Rio Grande Plains, southern Edwards Plateau and western Hill Country.

The Weather Prediction Center placed most of the region in a slight risk, level 2 of 4, for excessive rainfall through the flood watch period, with a moderate risk, level 3 of 4, today for the southern Edwards Plateau, Bexar County and parts of the western Hill Country. Many of the same areas carry a moderate risk again Wednesday into Thursday.

Forecasters again warned of the potential for life-threatening flooding somewhere in the watch area and urged residents to stay weather aware as more rounds of heavy rain are expected into Thursday.