Posted: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:39 AM - 8,887 Readers

By: Miguel Liscano

The effects of Friday's rain will be felt in Central Texas over the next few days, with cooler weather and boosted water levels in Lakes Buchanan and Travis, officials said.

A storm system that moved across the U.S. on Thursday night and moved east by Friday afternoon caused storms that dropped up to 3 inches of rain across the Hill Country and about an inch in town, readings from the Lower Colorado River Authority show. No rain is expected this weekend, and temperatures will range from lows in the 30s to highs in the 50s, National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Morris said.

The overnight rains increased flow in the Llano River and Sandy Creek , which flow into Lake LBJ. Higher levels there forced LCRA officials to open floodgates at Wirtz Dam and Starcke Dam to ensure that hydro-generation at Lake LBJ stayed near or below capacity.

The water flows will make their way into Lake Travis, which is about 9.2 feet below its January average, officials say.

"These recent rains, even though they've passed through the areas, the runoff from these rains are still continuing to flow into these lakes," said Mark Jordan , manager for river management at LCRA. "That water is now being stored in Lake Travis."

Jordan said the floodgates were expected to be closed by Friday night.

The rain prompted at least four road closures in Austin and helped spur a multicar pileup on Interstate 35 near Rundberg Lane that sent two people to the hospital.

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department also closed Barton Springs Pool because of flooding.

The pool will reopen after flooding stops and staff members clean it. Parks department spokesman Victor Ovalle said it was unclear how long the pool would be closed.

In the meantime, the city has extended Deep Eddy Pool's hours.

Friday's rains were part of a system that has dumped snow across the plains, including 13 inches in the northern Texas Panhandle, where nearly all of Interstate 40 from the Texas-Oklahoma line to New Mexico was closed for part of the day.

The Texas Department of Transportation closed I-40 east and west of Amarillo on Friday but later reopened it. Downed power lines and icy roads also temporarily closed parts of I-40 in far western Oklahoma and eastern New Mexico on Thursday.

*  Story Contributed by: Miguel Liscano