Make a Splash This Memorial Day Weekend in Austin
After a stormy start to the holiday weekend, Austin is turning the corner — and there’s still plenty of time to make the most of it.
Saturday brought real concerns for Central Texas, with the National Weather Service issuing a Flash Flood Watch that had many Austinites eyeing the skies nervously. But by Saturday evening, the NWS cancelled the watch.
Sunday is shaping up with partly cloudy skies, highs in the mid-80s and lows in the mid-60s — classic early-summer Austin weather. Residents are encouraged to remain weather-aware for isolated showers, but outdoor plans are very much back on.
And there’s no shortage of things to do.
Lady Bird Lake is one of the best places to kick things off — rental shops like Live Love Paddle, Rowing Dock, and Austin Rowing Club offer easy access to paddleboards and kayaks, with stunning views of the city skyline.
UPDATE: Austinites are out in force today.
If you’d rather drift than paddle, Lone Star Riverboat and Capital Cruises offer guided sunset bat cruises, where you can watch the famous colony of 1.5 million bats take flight from the Congress Avenue Bridge at dusk.
For families, Zilker Park is a Memorial Day staple — bring the kids for a frisbee toss, a ride on the Zilker Eagle train, or a refreshing dip in Barton Springs Pool.
The city’s Aquatic Division has pools open across Austin for the holiday weekend as well.
Adventure seekers can head to the Hill Country, where tubing the rivers with a cooler in tow is a beloved Texas tradition. Lake Travis is also in full summer mode, with open water and the kind of Texas energy that makes this one of the best places in the country to spend a long holiday weekend.
For a dose of competitive spirit, don’t miss Monday’s marquee athletic event.
The Ascension Seton CapTex Triathlon sends athletes swimming through Lady Bird Lake, biking past the Texas Capitol, and running through Butler Park before finishing at Auditorium Shores — and public viewing is free and open to all from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Vic Mathias Shores. A Finish Line Festival with snacks, drinks, and live music wraps up the day in true Austin fashion.
However you choose to spend it, Austin’s Memorial Day weekend is back in business.
Saturday afternoon, Williamson County authorities received a 911 call reporting a shooting in the 100 block of Allington Circle in Jarrell.
Caldwell County officials are searching for a trespasser and thief.
A crash on the US Highway 183 southbound service road near Riverside Drive led to a person being pinned in the vehicle with three other people.
PODCAST
An Austin student is back at school after weeks in an immigration detention center — just in time for his high school graduation. This week on Inside the Investigation – Investigative Reporter Kelly Wiley explains the community effort, led by a U.S. Congressman, to secure 18-year-old Luis Fernando Cabrera’s release and what his arrest tells us about how Texas is assisting federal immigration officials.
(Episode from May 23, 2026)
Parents in Pflugerville ISD are pushing back against Superintendent Dr. Quintin Shepherd’s explanation for why the district plans to close four schools, saying they do not believe the process has been transparent and that community concerns have not been meaningfully considered.
Superintendent Dr. Quintin Shepherd says the district has been discussing possible changes for months as it works through a $20 million deficit.
Three members of Austin’s beloved Japanese-American punk band Peelander-Z are hospitalized in intensive care after a semi-truck rear-ended their tour van on Interstate 40 east of Albuquerque Monday, sending all three band members to the ICU with injuries including broken bones, fractured vertebrae, and broken ribs.
The band’s record label, Chicken Ranch Records, says Yellow, Pink, and Tiger were placed in intensive care and are expected to remain hospitalized for some time. The remainder of the tour has been canceled, and the label says a GoFundMe has been established to support the band’s recovery.
The Williamson County Commissioners Court recently adopted the Atlas 14 Floodplain Mapping Study, marking the county’s first major floodplain map update in decades.
WEATHER
FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN LIFTED
The National Weather Service has cancelled the Flash Flood Watch that was previously in effect for the holiday weekend. While the immediate threat of widespread, dangerous flooding has passed, local emergency officials are still urging drivers to remain cautious around low-water crossings as scattered showers remain in the forecast.
SATURDAY’S HIGH . LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
Always the million dollar question this time of year:
Multiple agencies responded to a grass fire west of Clarendon in Donley County yesterday.
An investigation is underway this morning after gunshots erupted near Fort Cavazos, formerly known as Fort Hood, late last night. Details remain scarce as local police and military officials work to determine exactly what triggered the gunfire and whether anyone was injured. We are tracking this developing story and will bring you updates as they come in.
Guadalupe County and New Braunfels authorities arrested two men in connection with the assault of a Texas State Trooper, which then led to a chase.
A tough re-election race grew more daunting after President Trump backed Sen. Jihn Cornyn’s opponent, Ken Paxton. The Texas senator has vowed to fight to the end. (New York Times)
In the May 24 episode, U.S. Representative Julie Johnson and former Congressman Colin Allred provide voters in the 33rd District one final pitch before the runoff election. The Democrats also tell you how they differ from one another in one of the most combative races in the runoff cycle. And Republican candidate for Texas Comptroller Don Huffines explains why he’d audit TXDOT if elected, and what he has to say about Texas still spending billions on the border even after President Trump virtually sealed it.
A preview this week’s runoffs and the late-developing events of this past week, including President Trump making his pick in the Senate race and Gov. Abbott’s stern warning to donors.
Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Austin, El Paso, Arlington — all running deficits at the same time. What’s breaking Texas city budgets, and why isn’t anyone connecting the dots?
(Episode from May 21, 2026)
Screwworm cases have been confirmed less than 100 miles from the southern border. Should they reach Texas, the flies could cause serious economic problems for industries like hunting and ranching, which is why the federal government is spending millions to try to push them back from the border. (Texas Standard)
Testing at several sites in Port Aransas, Matagorda and the Bolivar Peninsula indicated high levels of bacteria.
Two people have been injured after a suspect went on a shooting spree in Montgomery County.
Chaos erupted in the community of Kings Colony, 25 miles from Houston, on Saturday afternoon.
SPORTS
MLS: Austin FC needs a break. Maybe the fans do, too.
Austin FC fell in a 3-0 defeat at St. Louis City SC on Saturday afternoon at Energizer Park. After an evenly-contested first half, St. Louis took the lead in the 40th minute. (Austin FC)
The Major League Soccer season will pause for two months as FIFA World Cup 2026 is set to take place from June 11 to July 19. Austin FC will return to action on Wednesday, July 22 to play its eighth home match and 16th match overall of the 2026 MLS regular season against Seattle Sounders FC at 7:30 p.m. CT.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL: Junior pinch hitter Victoria Hunter’s two-out, two-run go-ahead home run in the sixth lifted No. 3 Texas Softball over No. 19 Arizona State, 4-3, Saturday night at McCombs Field to force a game three of the NCAA Austin Super Regional.
Texas improves to 46-11 overall and 7-1 in the postseason with three victories vs. top-20 opponents. Texas has won eight of its last nine games. The Longhorns snapped Arizona State’s season-long 10-game win streak. (Texas Longhorns)
MLB: The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros will begin a three-game series tomorrow in Houston. In the meantime, they both need victories today to win their respective wekeend series.
Both of these series are tied 1-1. A win today for Texas and Houston secures a series win.
GAME 4 TONIGHT
TONIGHT — 7:00 PM CDT | AT&T Center, San Antonio
The Oklahoma City Thunder are one win away from taking control of this series, and the San Antonio Spurs are desperate to avoid falling into a 3-1 hole.
OKC holds a 2-1 series lead after stealing home court in Game 3 — a 123-108 win in San Antonio — capping a dominant run through the West that included a second-round sweep of the Lakers.
Tonight the Spurs, who opened the series with a stunning Game 1 upset on OKC’s home floor, look to even things back up at 2-2 in front of their home crowd. With win probability essentially a coin flip — oddsmakers give San Antonio a slight 55.5% edge — the momentum of this series hangs in the balance.
Can the Spurs claw back to even, or will the Thunder go up 3-1 and put San Antonio on the brink of elimination?
Grab something inflatable!
We’re heading down the Comal River in New Braunfels.
