Category Archives: Weather/Climate

Just one flood gate remains open on Mansfield Dam at Lake Travis and the sloop is accessible again:

"Late this afternoon, the elevation of Lake Travis was at 683.6 feet above mean sea level (msl) — nearly 18 feet lower than its recent peak elevation July 6. However, the lake — created to hold floodwaters — still remains in its flood pool; Lake Travis is at full elevation at 681 feet msl."

Went out to check the boat this morning, after finishing mowing the lawn. Cabin has no mildew and the outboard started on the first pull. Then, coming home, another thunderstorm passed over with blinding rain. Traffic slowed, fortunately, because the car ahead braked suddenly and I ran into it. My fault, of course, as it always is when you rearend someone. Fortunately no one was hurt, but I’m now looking at expensive bodywork. I do wish all this rain would go the hell away. The aquifers are full, the ground is saturated. We don’t need any more.

At 1 p.m. today, the lake is to reopen to recreational boating, although given the warnings, one has to wonder why:

“’It’s not quite the same lake that it was before the flood,’ [LCRA’s Tim] Bradle said. ‘While much of the debris is gone, some still remains, especially just below the lake’s surface, and it could be hazardous to watercraft and people.’”

One of the aerial shots I saw showed a dead cow floating along. I suppose it’s been taken care of. But there’s also three floodgates open on Mansfield Dam, though one is supposed to close today. Well, now I can go ahead and reschedule the sloop’s rerigging, possibly as soon as next week. And start dreading the refurbishing of the teak.