Rain Finally Returns to Austin — But Thursday’s Storms Leave One Dead in South Austin
After more than a month without measurable rainfall, Central Texas got the rain it desperately needed on Thursday.
A Deadly Collapse in South Austin
As storms pushed into the Austin area Thursday evening, wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph moved through Travis County ahead of the heaviest rain.
According to Travis County Emergency Services District 5 Fire Chief Chris Barron, those winds brought down a home that was under construction in south Austin, trapping two people beneath the structure.
When first responders arrived on scene, one of the two people caught under the collapsed structure was found dead. The condition and outcome for the second person had not been fully detailed as of this report. Crews worked to free those trapped and stabilize the site as the storm continued to move through the area.
The collapse fits a grim pattern seen elsewhere in Texas: homes in the framing stage of construction — before walls, sheetrock, and permanent bracing are in place — are especially vulnerable to being toppled by sudden, strong straight-line winds.
Similar collapses at active construction sites have been reported in the Houston area and elsewhere in the state during past severe weather events.
Wind Gusts Topped 50-60 mph Across Travis County
The National Weather Service issued Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for Travis County Thursday evening as a line of strong storms moved southeast across the area. Radar-indicated wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph and pea-to-half-inch hail were reported with cells tracking near Mansfield Dam and through central Travis County, affecting Austin, Pflugerville, Lakeway, West Lake Hills, Manor, and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, among other communities.
Those gusts were strong enough to snap tree limbs and down power lines.
A Possible Funnel Cloud in Luling
“Damage has been reported to the electrical grid and power lines, particularly Trunk Line 40, which serves a large portion of the south side of town. City crews and Techline are currently beginning repairs.” — City of Luling via Facebook
Thursday’s severe weather also brought reports of a possible funnel cloud near Luling, southeast of San Antonio in Central Texas.
Funnel clouds are common companions to the kind of strong, rotating thunderstorm cells that swept through the region Thursday, and while most never touch down or cause damage, they’re taken seriously by forecasters and residents alike given the potential to develop into a tornado.
As of this writing, further details and confirmation from the National Weather Service on the Luling sighting were still developing.
The End of a 33-Day Dry Spell
For as damaging as Thursday’s storms were, they also delivered something Central Texas had been waiting weeks for: rain.
Before Thursday, Austin had gone roughly a month without measurable precipitation — a stretch that, as of a few days earlier, already ranked among the longer dry spells in the city’s recorded history, which dates back to the 1890s. High pressure had been parked over the region, keeping the atmosphere dry and steering rain-producing systems around Central Texas through most of August.
Thursday’s storm system finally broke that pattern, but it arrived as a classic Central Texas trade-off: badly needed rainfall bundled with damaging, fast-moving severe weather.
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
What’s Next
Central Texas has had a rough go of extreme weather swings in 2026, cycling between prolonged dry stretches and sudden severe storms — a pattern climatologists have increasingly tied to the kind of “flash drought” conditions that can develop and reverse quickly across the southern Plains.
Residents are advised to stay alert for updates from the National Weather Service and local emergency management officials as more storm systems are a slight possibility later today and this evening.
Sources:
- Travis County Emergency Services District 5 / Fire Chief Chris Barron (via emergency response reporting)
- National Weather Service — Austin, TX Severe Weather Alerts, Weather Underground
- KXAN Austin — “Longest stretch without rain in the Austin area?”
- KXAN Austin — “Flash drought developing across the southern Plains”
While water service has been restored to hundreds of families in western Travis County, some customers report ongoing issues. (KVUE-TV)
The West Travis County Public Utility Agency (PUA) confirmed that system tanks recovered on Thursday following severe drops in water levels, which had left several residents without service for days. The low pressure also impacted three Lake Travis ISD schools on Thursday, though normal pressure has since returned across the district.
After months of public outcry and a push from Mayor Kirk Watson, Austin city leaders are taking action.
The City Council voted unanimously on Thursday to draft new regulations for data center developments. Driven by passionate testimony from dozens of residents, the resolution directs the city manager to create specific zoning rules and update Austin’s land code to manage where and how these facilities are built.
Julie Kaye Oliver is a progressive policy advocate and nonprofit leader based in Austin.
A SPECIAL EDITION OF THE ATX AGGEGATOR COVERING THURSDAY’S COUNCIL MEETING WAS POSTED YESTERDAY. READ IT HERE.
KXAN-TV Investigator Grace Reader sat down with Austin Mayor Kirk Watson to talk about data center regulation, his recent “no” vote on the budget and his disapproval of the plan to restructure the city’s 911 communication center.
There are a lot of local races on the ballot this November, including some council races. At least two districts will have new representation come January.
Following a vote to suspend the use of Flock cameras in the city, Pflugerville officials said over 400 agencies had accessed its Flock system, while only 83 had authorization.
Liberty Hill city leaders heard renewed concerns Wednesday night about the use of Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras in the city.
Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) are becoming a flashpoint across Texas, raising questions about privacy and public safety. Now, the debate is entering the race for Texas governor ahead of the November election.
An e-scooter driver riding against traffic early Wednesday on MoPac Expressway was struck and killed by multiple vehicles, according to Austin police.
32-year-old Lee Anthony Chavez -Avera was killed.
This incident is being investigated as Austin’s 54th fatal crash of 2026, resulting in 54 fatalities. On the date of this crash in 2025, 68 fatal crashes resulted in 72 deaths. (Austin Police Department)
Bastrop/Travis ESD 1 battled a structure fire Thursday in the 300 block of Lexington Drive in southwest Austin.
More ICE arrests in the North Lamar area of the city yesterday.
Reporte Austin says it has more insight into how immigration is operating.
“After a person was detained in Lamar, he was taken to an area near Kramer and Metric where he was handed over to two guards from a private company called G4S Secure Solutions. Investigating, we found that ICE had awarded that company a $19.45 million contract in April this year to handle the transportation of detainees to their offices in San Antonio. They have been doing it in government vans that are filling up as they carry out the arrests.”
Earlier in the day, ICE arrested one person, also on Lamar, and left a woman and two children accompanying her, who received support from witnesses in the area.
Meanwhile, between Tuesday night and Thursday morning, 25 individuals were taken to the Comal County Jail after being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung)
A 20-year-old San Antonio man is accused of threatening to shoot federal immigration agents as they prepared for a fugitive-apprehension operation in Castle Hills, according to arrest records. (San Antonio News-Express)
In Mustang Ridge, a truck driver allegedly threatened to kill a gas station employee after being asked to move his vehicle from a driveway.
A chase ensued and an arrest was made.
Joining a federal lawsuit, Travis County is fighting a new Trump administration directive on mail-in ballots. The challenged March executive order mandates that USPS only transport ballots for individuals on official state voter lists and requires distinct election logos and trackable barcodes on all ballot envelopes. (KUT 90.5)
Meanwhile, in Caldwell County, leaders have approved 15 new polling locations for voting in November.
An update on construction of Austin’s new convention center…
Austin city park rangers are restoring some rocks in Barton Creek back to wildlife habitat. These rocks have been moved around by recreational users over the summer.
A jet ski ban on Lake Austin?
Austin’s mass transit agency has released its proposed operation budget for the next fiscal year. It will be voted on next month.
A brushfire south of Harper in Gillespie County is dubbed the Dos DuderStadt Fire. It has burned about 165 acres and is 90% contained as of late last night.
The Ross Fire has grown into one of the largest wildfires in the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s recorded history, scorching 85,000 acres across Palo Pinto and Jack counties in just three days.
The fire, which began Monday near Palo Pinto, grew with extraordinary speed in the dry ranchland. By Tuesday, officials reported that the fire had doubled in size in a few hours to about 50,000 acres. By Wednesday, the estimate had climbed above 80,000 acres. (Texas Tribune)
Ranchers in the area are already having to think about rebuilding.
Firefighters from around Central Texas are helping battle the fire.
In all, there are nine active wildfires being monitored this morning by the Texas A&M Forest Service.
Besides the Ross Fire and Dos DuderStadt Fire, here are the others:
WEATHER
THURSDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
5-DAY FORECAST /AUSTIN, TEXAS
Tropical Storm Dolly is heading toward the Leeward Islands in the northeastern Caribbean this weekend.
At this time, 1-4 inches of rain is forecast from the Leewards through Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Cuba, with the exact amount depending on the track and intensity of the rainstorm.
With early voting less than two months away, President Donald Trump traveled to Houston on Thursday to boost fundraising and momentum for Republican Ken Paxton’s close U.S. Senate race against Democrat James Talarico.
The visit coincided with a shift in ad spending, as Republicans outspent the Democratic campaign in Texas for the first time this week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson framed November’s election as a direct referendum on President Trump’s agenda during a Thursday swing through South Texas. Campaigning with prominent local Republicans—including congressional candidates Eric Flores, U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, and Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina—Johnson urged voters to help the party lock in its growing momentum along the border. (Texas Scorecard)
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who has been accused of shooting a Venezuelan immigrant in northern Minneapolis was released from jail in southern Texas, where he had been awaiting extradition to Minnesota. (Houston Public Media)
A federal judge will hear arguments over an effort to stop border security construction in Big Bend.
THC businesses in Texas are taking a hit.
Sales are down, store hours are shrinking, retailers are going out of business and workers are losing their jobs following a slew of new regulations that effectively outlawed an $8 billion industry. (Dallas Morning News via MSN)
A judge is set to hear a challenge today against the state’s recent ban on certain synthetically derived THC products, such as Delta 8 and Delta 10.
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that aimed to block the Texas Education Agency from investigating teachers over posts they made on social media.
The whole world mourns Dolly Parton, while a great many of us realize for the first time what an immense socio-political impact she had on the world, through her unflappable positivity, her understanding of and support for working class Americans, her belief in science and medicine, her bold backing of the LGBTQ+ community, and so much more. For a person who made major contributions on issues that for most are heavily politicized, Dolly was beloved my almost everyone, regardless of their party or philosophy – and today we explore how she did that, hoping to learn valuable lessons.
Dallas is preparing for the midterm Republican convention and have released a plan to keep demonstrators safe.
According to the New York Times, four are in Texas and one of those is in Austin. (New York Times)
SPORTS
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: The bulk of Week 1 high school football action begins tonight, but there were a few Thursday night openers.
- Lake Belton 58, Vista Ridge (#13) 27
- Midway 19, Rouse (#20) 0
- Cedar Ridge (#23) 21, East View 6
- Glenn 14, Stony Point 3
- Liberty Hill (#16) 34, Killeen 30
- Anderson (#18) 27, Johnson 6
- Blanco 61, Crockett 15
TONIGHT
There are 66 games in the Austin metro tonight. The headline matchups:
- Inglewood (Calif.) at #3 Westlake — 7 p.m. — a high-profile inter-state matchup for the nationally ranked Chaps
- #4 Vandegrift at Brennan (San Antonio) — 7:30 p.m.
- #12 McNeil at #17 Bowie — 7:30 p.m. — ranked-vs-ranked Austin ISD rivalry
- #7 Weiss at #6 Round Rock — 7 p.m. — top-10 showdown
- #9 Cedar Park vs. A&M Consolidated — 7 p.m.
- #14 Hutto vs. Harker Heights — 7:30 p.m.
- #15 Georgetown vs. Temple — 7 p.m.
- #11 San Marcos vs. Hays — 7 p.m.
- #21 Lampasas vs. Gatesville — 7:30 p.m.
- #25 Wimberley vs. Canyon Lake — 7:30 p.m.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: There’s a good chance Arch Manning’s decision on whether to go pro or stay in Austin next year hinges on which team has the No. 1 pick. But as an organization, the Browns reputation is one of the worst in the NFL.
The Longhorns ramp up intensity as Ohio State prep begins in full view—are Steve Sarkisian’s squad ready for the national spotlight?
MLB: A win for the Houston Astros in the Big Apple last night.
Christian Walker had three hits, including a two-run homer off Gerrit Cole in the sixth inning, and Jeremy Peña added a solo shot to power the Houston Astros to a 5-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday night to win the series.
Astros starter Hayden Wesneski (4-1) allowed one run and three hits in five-plus innings against the team that drafted him in 2019. (Associated Press via MSN)
The Texas Rangers had Thursday off.
ON THE SCHEDULE
AL WEST STANDINGS
| Rank | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston Astros | 67 | 67 |
| 2 | Texas Rangers | 66 | 68 |
| 3 | Seattle Mariners | 64 | 70 |
| 4 | Athletics | 53 | 81 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Angels | 52 | 82 |
Tight race at the top — Houston’s clinging to first, just 1 game ahead of Texas. Seattle’s 3 back. Athletics and Angels are well out of it.
NFL PRESEASON WEEK 3: Both the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans complete their preseason schedules tonight.
Pool tables, shuffleboard, and live music in a historic building older than your grandparents’ parents… are these the qualities of a true Texas honky-tonk?
Riley’s Tavern in New Braunfels, hidden in the Texas Hill Country between San Antonio and Austin, was the first beer joint in Texas established after Prohibition. With a sign on the wall telling patrons not to shoot out the windows, you know you’re standing in Texas history.
