Tag Archives: Memorial Day Weekend flood of 1981

No one who lived through it–including me–has forgotten the Austin flooding of May 24, 1981. Though there have been plenty of other floods since then, that remains the Memorial Day weekend biggie of memory. So, since intermittant heavy rains began yesterday, and are forecast to continue today and through the weekend, it’s natural to wonder if we’re about to have another one. Five people already have died from flooding northwest of Austin. It’s pretty normal to have rain on Memorial Day weekend, as LCRA meteorologist Bob Rose notes. But he also says the threat of flash flooding this weekend is real. Since more than an inch has already fallen in the Austin area–and a whopping 9 inches in parts of the Hill Country, where at least one person has drowned–we’re not taking this one lightly.