Central Texas – The Flash Flood Capital of the State

Lake Buchanan, built to help prevent floods in Central Texas Central Texas – The Flash Flood Capital of the State - The Floods of 1957, 1981, and 1998 1957 - The Longest Drought In Texas History Ends With Massive Floods - Central Texas Flood (Hill Country) Texas climate changes can often be considered extreme. The State is so large that one portion of it can suffer from flooding rains to extreme drought. In fact, parts of Texas are currently experiencing a drought, (as is most of the Western United States, but this book is about Texas, so…) The worst drought in Texas history was the 1950s drought, lasting from 1949 to 1957, and is considered the state's "drought of record". It was caused by prolonged periods of little to no rainfall, and as a result there was extensive agricultural losses, dried-up water resources, destructive weather event (tornadoes, windstorms, but no rain), and played a significant role in how the economic structure of the state began to shift away from the rural communities to its current model of mostly urban. The environmental effects of the drought definitely laid the foundation for the devastation that was to follow during the flood.  Rivers and creeks dried up, reservoirs emptied, and the landscape was severely impacted. One interesting side effect was there were occasions when the State experienced destructive hail and multiple tornadoes. When the drought broke, it broke in a big way. They called it  "The Day of the Big Cloud". The drought officially ended with a significant rain event on April 24, 1957, which brought 10 inches of rain within a few hours and marked "The Day of the Big Cloud". But that wasn’t the only water that fell from the sky. In Lampasas, on May 12th, on Mother’s Day heavy rainfall overwhelmed Lampasas, particularly its Sulphur Creek watershed, breaching levees and sending a surge of floodwaters through the heart of town. The flood inundated 68 downtown blocks: destroying 38 homes and five businesses, severely damaging 46 houses and 47 businesses and affecting about 90% of the downtown area. Total damages were estimated at $4.5 million  Worse than the economic losses, five residents lost their lives during the Lampasas flood  The event proved a turning point for the town; afterward, officials implemented new and substantial flood-control measures which have come in handy even in today’s world. The massive amount of rainfall turned Hill Country creeks into torrents of raging water that swept through Llano, Burnet, and Lampasas counties with a fury born of years of pent-up skies. Dozens perished as flash floods tore through towns and carried homes away like driftwood. The flood was both a tragedy and an ending. While the flood broke the back of the 1950s drought, but at a terrible human cost. Almost 25 years later Central Texas would once again see heavy flooding, this time in Austin. 1981 Austin Flood (Shoal Creek & Onion Creek) It was a summer storm that seemed ordinary at first, but by the night of May 24, 1981, Memorial Day Weekend, Austin was drowning. Shoal Creek is the largest of Austin’s north urban watersheds, encompassing approximately 8,000 acres (12.9 square miles). About 27% of the watershed is over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone.[1] Its length is approximately 11 miles. It runs parallel to and between Waller Creek to its east and Johnson Creek to its west. According to the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, on May 24,1981 Shoal Creek reached its record highest crest ever recorded at 23.11 feet. This record crest led to the deaths of 13 people and $36 million in damages. Shoal Creek burst its banks, turning streets into rivers that carried cars away like driftwood. Downtown stores filled with water, entire blocks of North Lamar were gutted, and homes along Onion Creek were swallowed in the flash floods. Thirteen people lost their lives that night, caught in the sudden,