Several areas throughout the Texas Hill Country are under flash flood warnings as heavy rain raises the threat of life-threatening flooding across the region.
The warnings came just hours before Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 59 counties across Texas.
"As severe storms and the threat of dangerous flash flooding continue across the state, this disaster declaration ensures we can rapidly deploy state resources to support local communities," Abbott said. "Texas is positioned to respond quickly and effectively."
The National Weather Service issued the flood warnings Tuesday as rounds of heavy rain moved across South and Central Texas. Flash flood warnings are issued when dangerous flooding is either very likely or already occurring.
"When we issue a flash flood warning, that means that conditions are imminent for flash flooding," said Jason Runyen, warning coordination meteorologist for the NWS Austin/San Antonio office.
In social media posts Tuesday morning, the Kerrville Police Department shared photos of cars stuck in high water, tow trucks pulling out stranded vehicles and downed trees blocking roadways.
"We can't stress this enough: do not drive around barricades, and do not drive into high water on the roadway even if no barricades are present," the department said in one post. "Low riding vehicles will flood out."
The latest flood threat could also test new warning systems installed after last year's deadly flooding. A new network of gauges, available to the public through an online platform called RiverHub, tracks rainfall and river conditions. As of Tuesday afternoon, data from the gauges showed areas near the Guadalupe River had received more than 3 inches of rain over the last 24 hours.
Flood sirens have also been installed in parts of the Hill Country. In Ingram, a city of fewer than 2,000 people just west of Kerrville, local officials had not activated sirens as of Tuesday morning.
"I can tell you we have not had enough rain to cause any flooding at this point," said Stuart Gross, the city's code enforcement officer.
The Texas Newsroom also reached out to Tara Bushnoe, executive director of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, and Shorey Harmon, who leads Kerr County's emergency management division, to confirm whether flood sirens had been or would be activated. Neither have responded.
For now, the flood threat includes areas along the Guadalupe River in the Hill Country, where catastrophic flooding just over a year ago killed more than 130 of people and devastated communities along the river. The July 4, 2025, flood caused the river to rise rapidly, damaging homes, businesses and summer camps across the region.
Parts of nearby Bexar and Comal counties were also under flash flood warnings Tuesday morning as heavy rain moved through the San Antonio area. The NWS warnings come as Kerrville, much of the Interstate 35 corridor, the southern Edwards Plateau and Rio Grande Plains remain under a broader flood watch through Thursday evening.
The Austin area also remains under a flood watch through Thursday.
Forecasters expect two to six inches of rain across the watch area through Thursday. Isolated totals of 10 to 15 inches are also possible in parts of the Rio Grande Plains, southern Edwards Plateau and western Hill Country.
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