Posted: Mon, 18 Apr 2016 12:18 PM - 37,148 Readers

By: Tony Cantu

Mother Nature unleashed her fury in Central Texas, dumping nine inches of rain across the Austin-area landscape Sunday night, leaving traffic accidents and high-water rescues in the aftermath with rain continuing into Monday.

The strongest showers occurred last night in the Austin area. East of Austin, residents saw up to 16 inches of rain.

The strongest part of the storm front has now moved eastward, with errant paths to Caldwell and Hays counties.

Houston has borne the brunt of the storms, with some 16 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. Some people there are trapped in their homes -- the water too high for them t leave -- and emergency crews have gone on more than 70 rescues at low-water crossings.

According to ATXfloods.com, there are 129 crossings in Travis, Bastrop, Hays and Williamson counties that have been closed. Officials urge all motorists to check for those crossings and avoid trying to drive through them -- a maneuver that has cost lives in past years.

More heavy rain is expected Monday. Given the already-saturated earth, this means that flash flooding is all but a foregone conclusion in some areas.

On Monday, up to three more inches was being predicted by the National Weather Service and other officials. Some isolated areas could get up to six inches of rain.

The rain is expected to continue until Tuesday in the first part of the day. After about 1 p.m., rain chances decrease to 30 percent on that day but then increase again to 50 percent by Wednesday.