While Parts of Texas Drown, Austin is Cheering For More Rain
Closely monitoring the rain has quickly become a sport for Austinites desperate for higher lakes.
If you have been online since July 4th you’ve seen it. Posts, stories and testimonials centered around the terrible flooding in Central Texas. Some are touching and uplifting while others are gut wrenching; reminding the viewer of how cruel and indiscriminatory natural disasters can be. The whole region was soaked to the bone, especially the Hill Country and the Highland lakes (Buchanan, Travis, Inks, LBJ, Austin & Marble Falls). But when the sun finally started peaking through the clouds and the long process to put the Hill Country back together began, I noticed some very different reactions to the week’s heavy rainfall.
I’m talking of course about the flood of posts, comments, tweets(?) and even texts from friends about the rapidly rising levels of our lakes and the possibility for even more rainfall.
Everybody who has worked in an office, had a long elevator ride with a stranger or been forced to make small talk with a distant aunt at a funeral has discussed, maybe even at length, the recent weather. But the fervor around recent rainfall in Austin is much different. People are cheering on storm clouds, gluing their eyes to the National Weather Service site and sharing their excitement in all channels available to them. This is no longer weather as small talk. This is weather as sport.
As the lakes filled up in the aftermath of the storms, I too found myself on the virtual sidelines cheering them on. I’ve been firing up isthelakefullyet.com daily and beaming watching the lake climb from below 640 feet two weeks ago to nearing capacity at 675 feet today.
I particularly enjoyed some footage of Austinites pilgriming to Inks Lake to watch the dam open and release water down into Lake Travis. As the water fell the onlookers cheered as if welcoming their hometown team back from a successful stint of road games.
But every time I grow excited over yet another deluge of water into an already soaked area, I get a funny taste in my mouth and my excitement fades. It feels like I’m at the bequeathment of an estate. But instead of one death this is many and instead of leaving behind a collection of beanie babies or a large sum of cash they’ve left behind an enormous amount of rainwater .
Excitement for rising lakes and falling water has breached containment from niche internet communities like Texas Storm Chasers into the broader Austin community. As evidenced by not one but two slacks from coworkers today discussing their elation around how much lake Travis has risen today. With one coworker tossing out yet another website where you can track just how wet we’re getting.
I am loving the rainfall too, coworker, but I feel bad celebrating it.
Wanting more perspective, I reached out to a couple of avid rain posters online to get a glimpse into the mindset of a rainwater super fan.
One Reddit user, u/probstillindenial, moved to Austin a few years ago excited to kayak and swim in our beautiful lakes and rivers. When they got here, the barren and depleted lakes were not much of a welcome party. And even though their heart breaks for all the loss of life, there is still a joy in watching the lakes fill up in the aftermath.
“I told my spouse “I wish some rain would park itself in the Travis watershed and stay until the lake fills.” I forgot to add “… and don’t kill anyone.” (facepalm),” they said.
A most frequent contributor to the dialogue around lake levels is u/bachslunch. He’s a 20 year nudist and a dedicated tenant of Hippie Hollow.
The level of Lake Travis significantly impacts the Hippie Hollow experience, I am told. So even though u/bachslunch hates rain on account of growing up in a stormy part of Louisiana, he is watching every inch with great attention and providing updates to Austinites online. His words provide a much needed weather service while our federal friends feel the cuts.
“I wish they didn’t cut FEMA, the NWS, and NOAA but they did so we just have to deal with it. It was heartbreaking when I read about the victims and I had to stop because it elicited too strong emotions. But I feel I’m providing a service to Austin,” he said.
Bachs raised a great point about the blame going around following this tragedy. Focusing purely on mourning the dead eschews the reasonable blame that lies on some adjacent parties. Every politician in town, and out, who cut funding to essential organizations would rather focus on how unpredictable and inevitable these disasters are. But doing that is a tidy way to avoid all fault for how unprepared Central Texas was when a little more political will could have saved lives.
Everyone I spoke to, in person and online, had a dash of this perspective. A rage towards the responsible parties behind the scenes. Perhaps by rooting for more rainfall and closely following the volume of the lakes they have gained some useful perspective on the matter. Perspective you’ll long for by focusing entirely on the devastation at hand.
The Austin region desperately needed this rainfall. The lakes have been in decline for five years, we are officially in a drought and coming off of one of the hottest summers on record just two years ago. Take all the time needed to mourn what we lost, but also think about, and maybe even cheer for, what we’ve gained.