Flash Flood Emergency Grips Texas Hill Country as Guadalupe River Surges Again
Just over a year after the catastrophic July 4, 2025 floods killed more than 135 people in Kerr County, the Texas Hill Country is once again under siege from rising water today.
The National Weather Service declared flash flood emergencies before dawn across Uvalde, Blanco, Gillespie, Kendall and Kerr counties as a mesoscale convective vortex dumped torrential rain on already-saturated ground. Forecasters warned that rainfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour were possible, and that even lighter rates of half an inch to an inch per hour would be enough to trigger rapid flash flooding given how waterlogged the soil already is.
In Kerr County, up to a foot of rain has fallen in and around Hunt and Kerrville, prompting officials to ask residents to shelter in place.
One person has been confirmed to have died as a result of the flooding.
Some good news:
Multiple water rescues have been reported in Hunt, one of the towns hardest hit last year. Downstream, the situation escalated quickly: the Guadalupe River gauge at Center Point rose 32 feet in just four hours, cresting near 38 feet early Thursday — a level the NWS said could rival last year’s catastrophic flood.
River stages are shifting fast across the basin. As of this morning, the Guadalupe at Hunt and at Kerrville had eased slightly but remained in Moderate flood stage, while the gauge at Comfort climbed to nearly 33 feet, reaching Major flood stage. Forecasters describe a “large and deadly flood wave” pushing downstream toward Center Point and Bergheim, urging residents in its path to seek higher ground immediately.
The danger isn’t confined to the Guadalupe. A flash flood emergency was also issued for more than 20,000 people along the Pedernales River in Blanco and Gillespie counties, where a gauge in Fredericksburg reported a 31.5-foot flood stage and rising water.
Flooding has since spread into the Nueces and Frio river basins as well. Downstream near Spring Branch and Canyon Lake, the Guadalupe is forecast to crest above moderate flood stage early Friday.
The LCRA has announced planned floodgate operations this evening on Wirtz Dam and Max Starcke Dam.
An upper-level low has migrated westward into the southern High Plains to support a renewed round of heavy thunderstorms across the Texas Hill Country early this morning. Continued influx of Gulf moisture is forecast to interact with the upper low to bring additional rainfall amounts of 6-8″ with locally 10+ inches today as these heavy thunderstorm clusters generally track northward from the Texas Hill Country through central Texas. This will likely exacerbate the ongoing flash flooding situation in the region. By Friday, the focus of the heavy rainfall is forecast shift west toward the Big Bend area, and possibly be confined to western Texas by Saturday morning. – National Weather Service
Emergency officials continue to urge residents throughout the region to avoid low-water crossings and heed evacuation orders as the situation develops through the day.
Sources:
- Forbes — The Texas Hill Country Is Flooding Again — And It’s Bad
- Spectrum News — Flash flood emergencies declared in Texas Hill Country
- KXAN — ‘Large’ flood wave on Guadalupe River prompts evacuations
- San Angelo LIVE! — Texas Hill Country Hit With Another Dangerous Flood
- FOX Weather — ‘Large and deadly flood wave’ moving down Guadalupe River
- KSAT — Flash Flood Emergencies and heavy rain targeting saturated areas
- CNN — Live updates: ‘Large and deadly’ flood waves threaten Texas Hill Country
UPDATES TO FOLLOW WHEN NECESSARY….
