Our 2nd rainy season is starting in Central Texas
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Central Texas has entered its second rainy season, which occurs during meteorological fall (September-November). We've seen several big rain makers so far this year, such as the catastrophic flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry.
READ: Why Texas Hill Country is one of the deadliest places in the US for flash flooding
University of Texas at Austin Meteorologist Troy Kimmel explained that key atmospheric setups for big fall rain events.
"These types of floods we see during the fall are tied to stationary fronts," he said.
"Thunderstorms can form when upper-level disturbances repeatedly passing over an area," Kimmel said.
When you factor in plenty of tropical moisture with stationary fronts, rain totals can quickly add up. Looking at 30-year monthly rainfall averages, meteorological spring averages 10.34" of rain in the Austin area. Meteorological fall averages 10.28" of rain.
One of the most notable recent fall flood events dates back to October 2018, when several days of heavy rain and flash flooding brought widespread destruction in the Hill Country.
"2018 brought ten times more flooding than the Fourth of July flooding in our area," said George Anderson, a lifelong Kingsland resident. "There's two rivers that come together in Junction, and they had 14"+ of rain 10 days before we had our flood."
Anderson was on the side of the Llano River when the flooding washed away the FM 2900 bridge. He said he hopes to never see it again.