Lake Travis water levels leapt by 5 feet after a heavy rainstorm doused parts of central Texas with up to 8 inches of rain last Thursday.
Texas has suffered from severe drought throughout the summer, with the water levels in many lakes, reservoirs, and rivers dropping as a result.
Lake Travis, near Austin, has been impacted by the drought. Boat launch ramps have closed because of low water levels, which also exposed hidden pecan groves and an abandoned concrete plant that had been beneath the water's depths.
Over the weekend, Lake Travis water levels have risen steadily. As of Monday, they were at 632 feet, a more than 5-foot jump over Wednesday's levels.
The increase is attributed to the flooding of the Llano River in Llano County, which received at least 7.5 inches of rain on Thursday morning as moisture-laden storms moved through the region.
The river entered a moderate flood stage after jumping 10 feet overnight, which prompted officials at the Lower Colorado River Authority to open the floodgates at Wirtz Dam and Max Starcke Dam, leading to a rush of 100,000 gallons of water per second pouring into Lake Travis, Austin TV station KXAN reported.
Lake Buchanan, about 60 miles northwest of Austin, benefitted from the flood as well, albeit not as drastically as Lake Travis. Lake Buchanan water levels increased by more than 1 foot after struggling with drought throughout the summer, with some residents voicing concern that low water levels could eventually expose a ghost town that was buried by water when the man-made reservoir was formed.
The National Weather Service branch in Austin and San Antonio posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the Edwards Aquifer and the San Antonio well both benefitted from the rain.
Portions of the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone have received some very much needed significant rainfall. The San Antonio well is now reading 5 feet higher than it was about 3 weeks ago, though it still has a long way to go to get back towards normal. pic.twitter.com/pMDTzdg02G
— NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) October 28, 2023However, despite the good news, Lake Travis remains 8 feet below 2022 water levels and nearly 30 feet below those in 2021. AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines told Newsweek that the region still needs more rain.
"They need more than this, but it's certainly a step in the right direction," Kines said.
Kines went on to say that the weather pattern is "transitioning into something that could lead to normal or above normal rainfall for that area over the next couple of months."
The most recent update to the U.S. Drought Monitor Map shows that less than 11 percent of Texas is free from all drought.
Nearly 90 percent of the state is suffering from "abnormally dry" conditions, 75 percent of the state is suffering from "moderate drought," 52 percent of the state is experiencing "severe drought," 25 percent is classified as being in "extreme drought" and nearly 7 percent of the state is categorized as in "exceptional drought."
The worst of the drought is in central and eastern Texas.
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