Three Months Worth of Rain in Three Days

An unusual weather pattern passed over Fayette County early this week, dumping as much as a foot of rain in places from Monday through Wednesday (according to LCRA Hydromet, 12.03 inches fell at the power plant in La Grange and 10.91 at their station north of La Grange). The relatively warm, wet weather came less than a week after an arctic blast dropped temperatures here into the teens.

“We went from penguins to ducks,” said La Grange Fire Chief Frank Menefee.

According to meteorologist Bob Rose with the Lower Colorado River Authority said the heavy rainfall was caused by a warm front that stalled over Fayette County.

The Colorado River in La Grange rose to 26.13 feet (minor flood stage) but with no significant impact as of Wednesday just before noon. The Navidad River south of Schulenburg rose five feet over FM 957 on Wednesday, halting travel to St. John and Moravia.

Emergency workers responded to numerous vehicle crashes related to the rain.

Schulenburg Volunteer Fire Department were called around 4 a.m. on Monday to a jackknifed 18-wheeler on Interstate 10 east of town.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office reported three separate crashes on Interstate 10 west of Flatonia Monday morning. There was also a crash on US 77 near the Lavaca County Line south of Schulenburg around 9:50 a.m.

The Sheriff’s Office also reported that a one-vehicle accident with injuries occurred in the westbound lanes of SH 71 near Prairie Valley Rd. around 9 p.m. on Monday.

Then around 10 p.m. on Monday, a vehicle heading down the Bluff on US 77 north of La Grange left the roadway and took out a fence near the famous gorilla statue. The gorilla escaped injury.

By Tuesday, the ground was so saturated that water had nowhere to go except up and across the roads. Schools in La Grange, Schulenburg, Round Top-Carmine and Fayetteville closed on Wednesday as many roads remained unpassable. Flatonia I.S.D. opened with a two-hour delay on Wednesday. County offices also closed on Wednesday due to the dangerous road conditions.

Fayette County Commissioners compiled the following list of road closures on Wednesday:

• Precinct 1: Davis Rd., Camelback Rd., Copperhead Rd., Owl Creek Rd. at Rabbs Creek;

• Precinct 2: Rocky Creek Rd., Roznov Rd., CH Allen Rd., Haw Creek Rd., Schoenst Rd., Gebhart Rd., Bauer Rd., Tobias Rd., Minarcek Rd., Wunderlich Rd., Noak Rd., Waldeck Cemetery Rd., Sand Rock Rd., Tietjen Rd., FM 954 at Mill Creek, Bell Settlement Rd. at Wendler Rd.;

• Precinct 3: Parkerville Rd. was completely impassable, Old Waelder Rd., Maynard Hallmark Rd., Father Anders Lp. had a tree down at Peach Creek Bridge, S. Old Smithville Rd., N. Old Smithville Rd., Pines Springs Rd., Ladwig Ln., S. Knezek Rd. at Mulberry Creek, Jurica Rd., Boulton Creek Rd.;

• Precinct 4: FM 155 from Cozy Corner 3233 to Anders Bottom Lp., FM 957 at the Navidad River (five feet of water over the road) FM 1579, Baumgarten Rd., Hermis Rd., Vivial Rd., Piano Bridge Rd., Loehr Rd., Lane Pool Rd., Anders Bottom Lp., Oakland Rd., Mensik Rd., Seydler Rd. was blocked by a downed tree, Bohuslav Rd. and Hajovsky Rd.

Event Moved to Fairgrounds from the Czech Center

Despite all the wet weather this week, the Texas Blacksmith Conference is held in conjunction with the Hume L. Baker Texas Antique Gas Engine Reunion and will still place January 26-27 in La Grange, but the events will be moved from the Texas Czech Heritage & Cultural Center to the Fayette County Fairgrounds area. Music will be at the German-Czech Mart, blacksmith demonstrations will be at the Emily Fritsch Barn and the gas engine demonstrations will be stretched throughout the grounds. Grounds open to the public for early viewing on Friday at noon and Saturday at 9 a.m.