Central Texas River Flooding on the Rise, Forecast Center Warns
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The National Weather Service’s West Gulf River Forecast Center (WGRFC) says major flooding could be in store for the Guadalupe River at Victoria later this week, with moderate flooding forecast along the San Marcos and Guadalupe rivers at Gonzales.
Major flooding is forecast for Sandies Creek.
Rain continues to push downstream but is included in the river forecast for the Lower Guadalupe River, WGRFC said.
Meanwhile, a flash-flood warning for the Guadalupe River at New Braunfels was canceled at 7:27 a.m., a flash-flood warning for the Guadalupe River in Guadalupe River ended at 10:06 a.m. and a flash-flood warning for Comal County terminated at 10:45 a.m.
New Braunfels Police Department (NBPD) temporarily closed the Comal and Guadalupe rivers inside city limits around 8 a.m. today.
Heavy rains caused an increased flow of water in the Comal River, with a flow rate of 3680 cubic feet-per-second (cfs) around 8 a.m. Water clarity was poor and the river contained debris.
The Guadalupe River was at 5740 cfs with poor water clarity, swift-moving water and debris as well, NBPD said.
On Facebook, river outfitter Texas Tubes said it generally takes 24 hours or more for the Comal River to recede to safe levels for recreational use.
“To show how fast river levels go down, at 7:45 a.m. the Comal River levels were at 2680 cfs, and by noon, river levels had already gone down to 1480 cfs.
According to data from Jen Crownover, Comal County Commissioner Pct. 4, between 2.88 to 7.87 inches of rain fell in New Braunfels, Spring Branch, Canyon Lake, Bulverde, Garden Ridge, Fischer, and Timberwood Park overnight.
County road crews are working on cleanup and repairs at over a dozen spots in unincorporated Comal County, including River Road at Jacobs Creek and Blieders Creek.
The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) today evacuated Lake Wood Park after reporting localized flooding with flows exceeding 30,000 cfs in some areas of its Guadalupe Valley hydroelectric lakes system.
It warned passing river flows are expected to remain high, moving downstream, over the next 72 hours, and advised property owners to secure boats, recreational property, and stay out of the water.
