Overnight storms hammer Central Texas

(KXAN) - A heavy line of overnight thunderstorms hammered Central Texas, leaving thousands without power, delaying the opening of several schools and forcing the closure of dozens of streets as motorists began their morning commute.

By dawn, rainfall totals topped 5 inches in the Hill Country and approached three inches in Austin.

In Bastrop, a motorist was being rescued near Lincoln Lake Road at State Highway 21. The road was said to blocked.

The majority of the early-morning flights from Austin Bergstrom International Airport were delayed up to two hours or canceled outright. By 8 a.m., most of the delays were being lifted.

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Airport spokesman Jim Halbrook advised travelers to check their flight status before heading to the airport and get to the airport two hours before their departure.

The National Weather Service lifted its Flash Flood Warnings by mid-morning but the flood watch will be in effect until noon.

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The Lower Colorado River Authority began floodgate operations at Starke and Wirtz dams. They're warning anyone near the dams to take appropriate actions to protect people and property that may be affected by swift-moving water caused by the operations.

The city of New Braunfels temporarily closed the Comal River to recreation because of elevated water levels and debris from this morning’s storms. Officials expect river will re-open Wednesday.

The severe weather began rumbling toward the Hill Country late Monday afternoon, prompting the National Weather Service to issue tornado-watch alerts for Northwestern Llano County and Northeastern Mason County in the Hill Country.

Trained weather spotters reported seeing a fast-moving, rotating wall cloud at the lowest level of the thunderstorm. A tornado cannot be seen on Doppler radar.

The rotating wall cloud was reported moving at about 45 mph to the northeast. There was no confirmed tornado touchdown, however.

The storms played out all across Texas. WOAI, the NBC affiliate in San Antonio, reported  that several homes were damaged an an unknown number of people were hurt when what might have been a tornado touched down in western Bexar County.

In Karnes County southeast of San Antonio, a confirmed tornado touchdown was reported, but there was no damage, WOAI said.

As many as 35 flights at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport were canceled on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. In the D-FW area, almost 9,000 were without electricity and 6,600 in San Antonio lost power, AP said.

A flash flood watch continues until Tuesday morning for Central Texas. Some areas could get as much as seven inches of rain.

The rain could linger until Wednesday morning.

Watch for updates on KXAN television as necessary, based on storm conditions.

Also follow us on twitter: @kxan_news for updates.