Pedernales River reaches highest level since 1979 after torrential rains flood Hill Country

The Pedernales River reached its highest level since 1979 Thursday after torrential rain swept across the Texas Hill Country, sending floodwaters over its banks and prompting a Flash Flood Emergency as communities downstream braced for rising water.

River levels near Fredericksburg climbed to more than 34 feet Thursday morning after rising roughly 25 feet in just a few hours, according to the National Weather Service. Although the river later began falling, floodwaters continued moving through Blanco County as emergency officials monitored conditions.

Across Blanco County, emergency officials spent the day tracking the flood wave as it moved from Fredericksburg and Stonewall toward Johnson City.

Blanco County Commissioner Chris Liesmann said the Pedernales was spilling out of its banks but, unlike some other Hill Country rivers, much of the floodwater was expected to remain within the river basin.

"It's coming out of the banks but staying within the river basin." Liesmann said many homes near Johnson City sit atop bluffs overlooking the river rather than immediately along its banks, reducing the risk of widespread residential flooding. He said the Lower Colorado River Authority's network of river gauges allowed emergency officials to track the flood wave as it moved from Fredericksburg through Stonewall toward Johnson City and eventually Lake Travis.

For longtime resident Tanya Mayer, flooding is simply part of life along the Pedernales River.

"Rivers in Texas flood sometimes." Mayer said her family has lived along the river for decades, and the home where she lives today was built in 1942.

Asked whether longtime residents know how to respond when the river rises, she smiled.

"The oldie goldies do." She said longtime residents understand the river's behavior, while newer residents who have built near the river may not.

Even so, she said Thursday's flooding stood apart from what most residents have experienced. The highest water her family remembered dated to the 1950s, when floodwaters reached the steps of their home.

Flood warnings and advisories remained in effect Thursday evening across much of the Hill Country, while a broader Flood Watch continued through Friday morning for Bandera, Blanco, Dimmit, Edwards, Frio, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Kinney, Llano, Maverick, Medina, Real, Uvalde, Val Verde and Zavala counties.

Forecasters warned that an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain remain possible in parts of the Flood Watch area, with isolated totals of up to 8 inches. Even as conditions improve Friday, saturated ground and swollen rivers could prolong flooding.

Though she had not been ordered to evacuate, Mayer said her family moved vehicles to higher ground and spent the day watching river levels and local alerts. Like many families who have lived along the Pedernales for generations, she said watching the river is simply part of life — especially when it rises this quickly.

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