A cold front pushing through this week will trigger showers in its advance and in its wake. The National Weather Service said some heavy rains could be quickly dumped in some spots of San Antonio and the Hill Country over the next couple of days.
While drought persists across the Hill Country and South Texas, some rains will be quick and heavy enough at times to fill low water crossings and other low spots fast, especially in the Hill Country
Forecasters have issued flash flood or flood watches for most of the Hill Country and San Antonio through early Wednesday afternoon. Some spots in the Hill Country could see up to 6 inches, whereas San Antonio could see up to 3 inches in some spots during the same period.
There are strong chances for rain on Monday night in San Antonio and at least a 50-50 shot each day and night through Friday. Rain chances moderate over this weekend.
The cold front and warm tropical moisture will clash over South Texas and the Hill County to create the rain.
South Texans and residents in the Hill County welcome the rain after a record hot and dry summer. July was the hottest ever in San Antonio's history and the year 2022 was on track to become the hottest ever.
Much of the rain this week is expected to fall on the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, boosting one of the main sources of water for a couple of million people.
Rains from recent tropical disturbances added a couple of inches to the underground water reservoir of pervious limestone and caverns. The 10-day average of the aquifer level stood at 633 feet on Monday or just 3 feet above the point where Stage 4 water restrictions would be triggered.
San Antonio residents remain under Stage 2 restrictions because the San Antonio Water System is drawing water from other sources as it complies with orders from the Edwards Aquifer to follow Stage 3 pumping restrictions.
Alamo City residents can water with automatic sprinklers once a week based on street address. Residents in New Braunfels are not as lucky as Stage 3 restrictions continue there. They may only water every other week using automatic irrigation following the same address system.
Famous swimming holes like the Blue Hole and Jacob's Well, both near the Hill Country town of Wimberley, have seen zero flow rates this summer.
The Frio River also dipped to zero and flow rates on the Guadalupe Rivet below Canyon Dam are only about a third of what is considered ideal for tubing. Medina Lake, west of San Antonio, was only 9% full.
Yards across San Antonio look yellow and brittle. At San Antonio International Airport, the city's official rainfall rate for the year is about 14 inches below normal.
