Updated: 4:33 p.m.
A Flash Flood Warning remains in effect for in the Texas Hill Country towns of Comfort, Waring and Center Point until 7 p.m. Thursday, July 16, as storms continue to linger in the area.
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Officials warn residents to avoid flooded roads and low-water crossings.
Updated: 9:47 a.m.
The National Weather Service has extended a Flash Flood Emergency for Comfort until 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, with the notice also applying to Center Point and Waring. Those in the affected area are urged to immediately relocate to higher ground and avoid traveling through flood waters.
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The extension comes after NWS is now forecasting a flood crest along the Guadalupe River surpassing last July's catastrophic holiday weekend flash flood levels.
In an update just after 8 a.m. on Thursday, July 16, NWS' Austin-San Antonio office reiterated that major flooding is underway and the agency's Flood Warning is now in effect for the area until late Thursday night. NWS now forecasts a flood crest at 39 feet — a height not hit since July 16, 1900, when water levels crested at 38.4 feet.
"At 39.0 feet, Disastrous life threatening flooding is over a mile across in some areas, flooding many homes below Kerrville to Canyon Lake, some to the roof. Large areas of the flood plain are cut off drowning hundreds of cattle," NWS wrote. "Most roads and bridges near the river flood and are extremely dangerous to motorists, cutting off residents in some areas until the water recedes."
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At 7:50 a.m. on Thursday, the flood stage was at 37 feet. Officials anticipate the flood stage will swing above that level up to a "maximum value of 38.7 feet late this morning."
Within Comfort, the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department said they have had several vehicles swept away in flood waters Thursday morning due to "curious onlookers," adding: "Please do not become the next emergency."
Volunteer crews are deployed and monitoring flash flood conditions to respond as needed.
Original story
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The National Weather Service has extended a Flash Flood Warning in Comfort as the Guadalupe River is rising at a staggering pace, climbing 16 feet in just 30 minutes and 22 feet in less than an hour as catastrophic flooding grips Central Texas. The National Weather Service says a Flash Flood Emergency remains in effect and is urging residents to seek higher ground immediately, with officials extending the warning until 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 16.
At 5:30 a.m., the NWS wrote in an emergency note that a large and deadly flood wave is moving down the Guadalupe River, with the river gauge at Center Point rising 32 feet in four hours and is expected to reach a crest similar to the July 4, 2025, catastrophic river flood, when torrential rainfall sent the river surging through the Texas Hill Country, killing at least 139 people and devastating communities in the area and beyond.
A follow-up NWS activation notice from 7 a.m. on Thursday reported between 3 and 12 inches of heavy rain had fallen across the Flash Flood Warning area, largely concentrated in Southeastern Bandera County and Kendall County. NWS officials stressed up to another inch of rain is possible in the area, and "flash flooding from runoff and additional rain is ongoing or expected to begin shortly."
The following locations will experience flash flooding: Boerne, Comfort, Fair Oaks Ranch, Welfare, Walnut Grove, Nelson City, Warning, Sisterdale, Kreutzberg, Bergheim, Kronkosky State Natural Area, Old Tunnel State Park, Kendalia, Bankersmith, Guadalupe River State Park, Pipe Creek, Bandera Falls, Spring Branch, Lakehills and Crown.
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The Comfort Volunteer Fire Department posted on Facebook on Thursday morning that the area is experiencing major flooding up river from Comfort. The team is currently upstream assisting with evacuations.
"We ask that everyone stays alert and monitors the situation," the volunteer department wrote on Facebook. "If you encounter water coming over a bridge or a low water crossing do not attempt to cross! Do not go around barricades! We ask everyone to please stay safe! TURN AROUND DON’T DROWN!!"