Flash Floods in Texas

September 1952: Pedernales River Flood

~~~~~~~~~ september 1952 Pedernales River Flood above-average precipitation from March through June. July and August, however, brought their usual hot and dry weather. Tarpley, San Saba, Mason, Rocksprings, Austin, Boerne, Hunt, Blanco, and Fredericksburg all reported no rainfall whatsoever for August. Kerrville, Hondo, Brackettville, Llano, New Braunfels, San Angelo, and Temple all received less than a quarter inch of rain for the month. Many Hill Country streams were at their all-time record lows. The Llano River at Llano had virtually dried up in August, requiring the city of Llano to ship in water in train cars. Lake Travis held only 374 acrefeet of water, which was only thirty percent of flood capacity. According to the records of the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), Travis’s all-time low is 619.06 feet, recorded on September 6, 1952. In early September the federal government sponsored a program called “Operation Haylift” to ship hay from Iowa to Texas. Initially, seventy-three counties were eligible to receive these shipments. Three counties north of the Hill Country—Brown, Taylor and Erath—were the first to place orders. Farther up from San Antonio and Austin , San Angelo continued its embattled relationship with water. The September 7 edition of the San Angelo Standard-Times summarized the synoptic weather scenario, noting the presence of a high-pressure system over the eastern United States and a low moving up from Mexico to Arizona and into Idaho. The article commented that the early-to-mid-1950s in Texas are known for an oppressive and extreme drought. Even during this period, however , torrential rainfalls and flash floods did not cease in the Lone Star State. One of the most extreme flash floods in the history of the Hill Country struck in September 1952. The deluges of that month produced surges in the north-central Hill Country rivers, including the Pedernales, Blanco, San Saba, Llano, and Guadalupe, which changed from having no streamflow to registering nearrecord numbers in less than forty-eight hours. A month later, the drought continued its stranglehold, with no rainfall in much of the Hill Country throughout October. Precedent Conditions The previous two years were dry ones for much of Central Texas. In 1950, cities with deficits of at least 7 inches were New Braunfels (12), Llano (9), Austin (7), Boerne (8), and Kerrville (7). As bad as that year was for the region in terms of rainfall, 1951 was even worse. The deficits in inches for Central and West Texas were Boerne (14), Kerrville (11), Junction (12), Llano (10), Mason (14), Brady (12), Rocksprings (12), Sonora (15), Temple (13), Menard (15), and San Saba (17). For the first six months of 1952, many Hill Country locations enjoyed a reprieve from the drought. Blanco registered aboveaverage rainfall for each month in a Marchthrough -July stretch, highlighted by a 6.19-inch total in May. Fredericksburg, Hunt, Kerrville, and Llano each recorded A4481.indb 136 A4481.indb 136 1/18/08 1:51:38 PM 1/18/08 1:51:38 PM ~~~ pedernale s river flo od this potentially promising pattern had not yet delivered: “The pressure systems weren’t slammed right to stir up any moisture-laden clouds. . . . The most heartening statement was that the back of the real summer heat apparently is definitely broken.” Two days after the San Angelo StandardTimes proclaimed that the summer heat was broken, the city of San Angelo announced drastic measures to conserve water. The city commission passed an amendment declaring a state of emergency and banning the use of air conditioners that used water. Sonora offered relief in the form of up to 1,016,000 gallons of water daily—if San Angelo supplied a means to transport it. San Angelo residents recalled that the inability to corral water from a 1951 rise on the North Concho River contributed to their need to ration the precious substance. In August 1951 the North Concho flowed from bank to bank for approximately twelve hours. The San Angelo Standard-Times commented on the frustrating situation: “It would not take more than a few hours to extend the line to the dam, but no responsible person was willing to assume the responsibility of ordering the gates closed and holding the water behind the dam. . . . No one had any idea it would be 13 months before it rained again. . . . [The] bitter water shortage of 51–52 would not have occurred if gates had been closed. . . . This [lost water] will always remain one of the...