The cool front that slide through the area today, packed little punch for most of us.  A big factor was the outflow boundary that arrived prior to the front across much of the area.  This boundary brought in some drier air in the lower levels and made the air mass more stable.  We did see some moderate rainfall across parts of Northern Williamson County, Fayette, Lee, and Bastrop counties.  Below is the 24 hour rainfall totals from our Vipir Radar.  You will also notice the streak of 1+” rainfall through Mason County, that was from Wednesday evening’s super-cell that blew through there.  I think a lot of that rainfall estimate was hail contaminated and therefore is a bit over estimated.

The latest drought monitor was released today, and it contains all rainfall through Tuesday morning.  It actually shows the area in southern Gillespie County that was in a severe drought last week, no longer in the severe drought.  Our entire area is still Abnormally Dry, with a small portion of the Hill Country in a moderate drought.  We are entering into June, which typically is one of our wettest months.  May is the wettest and will go down wetter than normal by slightly more than one inch.  Hopefully we will continue to see wetter than normal weather.

From the LCRA:

Lake Travis

LCRA is providing water from its new gravel pit reservoirs to irrigate rice fields this week, marking the first time the experimental pits have been used for agricultural operations.

It’s still early in the pilot project, but this is an important step to help determine if the pits can reduce downstream demand for Highland Lakes water, said Ryan Rowney, LCRA’s Manager of Water Operations.

“I think we’re all confident that we can capture excess water from the river in the gravel pits,” Rowney said. “Now we have to determine issues like what the fuel will cost to run the pumps, and ultimately, whether this project will reduce demand on stored water from the lakes.”

The idea of using gravel pits to store water has been discussed for years among LCRA staff and area farmers, and was initiated as a pilot project earlier this year. The project is part of LCRA’s commitment to find 100,000 acre-feet of new water by 2017.

The pits are in the Garwood Irrigation Division in Colorado County. They can hold a maximum of 2,000 acre-feet of water and can be filled multiple times during the year, depending on rainfall and river flow. The pits can capture water that flows into the Colorado River downstream of the Highland Lakes. They also give LCRA the ability to recapture water that has been released from the Highland Lakes for downstream customers or environmental needs, but is not needed by the time it gets there because of changes in river conditions or customer needs. No water from the Highland Lakes will be sent downstream specifically for use in the pilot program.

(more…)

Memorial Day kicks off the unofficial start to Summer, and the time of year when we really need to take extra care to protect ourselves.  First, it is very important to stay hydrated.  Drinking lots of water, and sports drinks, especially those that are low or free of sugars are best when temps soar to 90 and above.  Our bodies are quite amazing how they can regulate heat so well using the system of sweating.  However, Mother Nature can cause our bodies to over-sweat on hot and muggy days as well.  When the humidity levels are higher on hot days, the sweat off our skin does not evaporate as quickly, and causes our body to not cool as effectively.  Not only are drinking fluids important, but not over-doing it, and taking frequent breaks are very important.  Also, its a great idea to keep your skin as covered as possible with light weight, light colored clothing, and wearing a wide brimmed hat that will keep as much sun off your skin as possible.  The official start of Summer is only a few weeks away (evening of June 20th), and that is the time when the sun is the strongest in our area.  So its very important if you are going to be outside to keep the sunscreen on, and reapply it frequently especially if you are in the water.  Even if you don’t actually go in the water, burn times can be much less near the water (like in a boat) because of the water’s reflective properties.  It is also a good idea if you have to do chores outside to try to avoid the peak heating hours of the day when the sun is the strongest, between 10am-4pm.

The EPA does a daily UV forecast for Austin, and all weekend long has forecast a peak UV rating of 11+ each afternoon for us.  Below is the forecast from the EPA website for today.

Subtropical Storm Beryl has formed off the southeast coast. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.

Other images: 5-Day track on – 3-Day track on – 3-Day track off – Interactive^New!
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Note: If a storm is expected to dissipate within 5 days, its track will be shorter

David Dewhurst (Texas Senate)

A tight Republican race for U.S. Senate has the top three candidates watching the polls closely, as politicos begin predicting a July 31^st runoff. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst – a veteran politician – leads the race, followed closely by a rising star among conservative – former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz.

Not to be counted out is former Dallas mayor and businessman Tom Lepert. In this GOP-dominated state, the winner of this primary is considered a shoo-in to take over for retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in Washington.

Ted Cruz (Hispanic Republicans of Texas)

Dewhurst has, by far, the most money to spend, already reportedly going through $9.2 million of his vast personal fortune. He is also, according to some polls, on the edge of the necessary 50 percent to win this race. He also has the support of Gov. Rick Perry and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

But Cruz has been able to rely on big, conservative endorsements like former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, not to mention a string of tea party groups.

Tom Leppert (Leppert Campaign)

As the top three candidates all have similar views on policy like abortion, amnesty and taxes, their campaigns have turned to ads attacking their personalities instead.

Other noteworthy names in the Republican race are former pro-football player Craig James and Magnolia funeral director Glenn Addison. Whoever wins will face one of two Democrats – former state Rep. Paul Sadler or Sean Hubbard – though no Democrat has won a statewide office since 1994.

Lloyd Doggett (U.S. House)

Longtime Congressman Lloyd Doggett is facing one of the fiercest competitions of his career, thanks to recent redistricting. The Democrat is now running in Congressional District 35, which stretches from East Austin to San Antonio.

The southern edge of the district has a heavy Latino voting base, which could be an advantage for his opponent – Bexar County Tax Assessor Sylvia Romo.

Doggett has outraised Romo and has millions at his campaign’s disposal. But in the new, majority Hispanic district, Romo is well-known as someone in public service in Bexar County for 20 years.

“This district is predominantly Latino,” Romo told KXAN, “and I believe that the men and women of this district want a member of Congress who understands their needs and their concerns, not another millionaire who is more concerned about being re-elected and fighting with other politicians to boost his own name recognition.”

Sylvia Romo (Romo Campaign)

But Doggett is drawing supporters in the south part of the district, as he has spent much of his time there. He has also garnered more associations’ endorsements throughout the district, including the Texas State Teachers Associations, Austin Firefighters Association, San Antonio Police Officers Association and several Tejano groups.

“ Like every group endorsing in this race,” Doggett told KXAN, “from Tejano Democrats to Firefighters, Raul (referencing Raul Rosa, a Hispanic voter who block-walked for Doggett in Austin) knows my heart and my commitment to stand up to Rick Perry and extremist Republican policies.”

Still, Romo has gained the support of most Democratic elected officials in San Antonio. But she has not put out any television ads – something that might hurt her.

John Bradley (Bradley Campaign)

A name you won’t find on the ballot in Williamson County is Michael Morton. Still, he has become a critical campaign point in the GOP race for district attorney.

Accusations about Morton’s wrongful conviction have bounced between incumbent DA John Bradley – who, for five years, opposed DNA testing that eventually freed Morton – and County Attorney Jana Duty. The case is hard to ignore in this tough-on-crime county.

Duty has focused her campaign on Morton’s story, casting her opponent as someone who covered for his boss to maintain his own climbing career.

Jana Duty (Duty Campaign)

Bradley has fought back, defending himself and pointing out that Duty had a hand in the Morton case, too – that she is using the story to gain political traction.

Morton went to prison for nearly 25 years for the 1986 murder of his wife, Christine Morton. However, last year, he was exonerated after DNA on a bandana near the murder scene revealed a connection to another man – Mark Alan Norwood.

Norwood’s DNA also matched material found at the scene of the 1988 murder of Debra Masters Baker in Austin. Last year, he was arrested and charged with Christine Morton’s death.

Morton’s lawyers have said that, if Bradley had agreed to DNA testing sooner, their client could have gone free sooner and the true murder suspect could have been arrested earlier.

Duty has won the support of people like Caitlin Baker – the daughter of the Austin murder victim – and also Mark Landrum, who served as the jury foreman in Morton’s 1987 trial.

As Bradley points out, Duty did have a role in the Morton case. As part of her duty as county attorney, she successfully defended Bradley and the sheriff when Morton filed a federal lawsuit against them to grant the DNA testing.

She has since argued her role dealt only with whether a state court or federal court should hear the case – the jurisdiction.

Bradley has said he learned from the controversy, adding that he has worked to give defense lawyers better access to prosecutor’s files – something that could have brought evidence like the bandana to light sooner.

He has the endorsement of Gov. Rick Perry, who once appointed him to head up the Texas Forensic Science Commission – a position that brought its own set of controversies.

The winner of this race will later face Democrat Ken Crain, a lawyer in Georgetown.

Paul Workman (Workman campaign)

The fight to keep western Travis County in the red comes down to two men fired up on the topic of amnesty – in some form or fashion. Rep. Paul Workman and his primary challenger, lawyer Ryan Downton, have dug into a race full of neighborhoods plastered in illegal immigration signs.

Both men have pledged to clamp down on the issue. However, Workman can’t seem to get past a piece of failed legislation he authored last session that would have given undocumented immigrants the opportunity to apply for resident alien cards if they pass a criminal background check.

Downtown has said the bill would have offered amnesty to that group, though Workman denies that as a possibility. The bill never received a vote in the House.

Ryan Downton (KXAN)

Downton’s campaign has put up signs throughout the district stating Workman supports amnesty for undocumented immigrants, pushing people to the website paulworkman.org. It was specifically created to attack Workman on this issue.

Workman – who raised five times more money last month that Downton – has since put up his own counter signs, saying he opposes amnesty. However, during a recent forum, it was clear he and members of the audience felt other issues have been overshadowed by this single topic.

The forum eventually showed the two have similar views on a variety of things: leaving the rainy day fund untouched, repealing President Barack Obama’s health insurance plan, and focusing on water during this drought-stricken time for the district.

The winner of this race will face Democrat Chris Frandsen, a small businessman and veteran.