The Highland Lakes are benefiting from overnight and early morning rainfall Oct. 16 as much, if not more, than this past weekend's heavy storms, the Lower Colorado River Authority board learned.

Bob Rose, LCRA meteorologist, presented the board Oct. 16 with recent weather data, explaining that much of the rainfall to drop Oct. 12 and 13 pinpointed the city of Austin.

"Unfortunately most of that rain was downstream of the Highland Lakes," Rose said. "I feel I have to almost apologize that bull's-eye wasn't 20 miles northwest."

The weekend storms, combined with the 2 to 3 inches of precipitation to fall Oct. 16, has helped increased Highland Lakes' combined storage 24,000 acre-feet, LCRA Water Operations Manager Ryan Rowney said. Lakes Travis and Buchanan stood at approximately 682,000 acre-feet combined storage—approximately 34 percent full—as of the morning meeting. He cautiously suggested levels could reach 690,000 acre-feet by the end of the week as more water flows into the lakes.

"Let's see what the day brings," Rowney said. "Rain is still falling, the ground is wet—it's good news."

Since mid-September, the lower Colorado River basin has seen anywhere from 8 to 15 inches of rain—well above normal, Rose said, and much needed after a very dry summer.

"That's a phenomenal amount of rain in just a short amount of time," he said, explaining how some parts of the Hill Country received one-third of the annual rainfall average in the past month.

LCRA General Manager Becky Motal said the recent rains have pushed back the likelihood of hitting the drought of record—the point at which the Highland Lakes drop below 600,000 acre-feet of combined storage—until at least February. Prior projections estimated the lakes would hit such record lows by October or November.