Checking the rain gauge is basically a religion in the Texas Hill Country. If you live in Kerrville, you know the drill. You wake up, look at the driveway to see if it’s damp, and then immediately start hunting for the "real" numbers from the airport or that one neighbor with the fancy weather station.
So, how much rain did Kerrville get yesterday?
According to the official National Weather Service data pulled from the Kerrville Municipal Airport (ERV), the area saw a total of 0.84 inches of rainfall over the last 24-hour period ending at midnight. Now, before you say "that’s it?", remember how hit-or-miss Hill Country storms are. While the airport recorded less than an inch, CoCoRaHS observers—those dedicated volunteers who manually check gauges in their backyards—reported numbers as high as 1.25 inches near Silver Hills and slightly lower totals around 0.60 inches closer to Tivy High School. It was one of those classic "my yard is soaked but my commute was bone dry" kind of days.
Why the Kerrville Rain Totals Vary So Much
Texas weather is weird. Honestly, it’s frustratingly inconsistent. You can be standing at the HEB on Main Street getting absolutely hammered by a downpour while someone sitting at Pint & Plow just a mile away is wondering why the clouds look a little gray.
This happens because of "convective" rainfall. Instead of a massive, sweeping front that covers the whole state in a gray blanket, we get these localized cells. They pop up, dump a huge amount of water on three blocks, and then vanish. This is why the official airport reading often feels like a lie to people living out on Highway 16 South or up near Nimitz Lake. Yesterday was a perfect example of that scattershot pattern.
The humidity was sitting at nearly 85% before the clouds broke. That heavy, "sticky" air acts like fuel. When the cold front nudged into the Hill Country yesterday afternoon, it squeezed that moisture out like a sponge.
Breaking Down the Data Sources
When people ask about the rain, they usually look at three places. First is the Kerrville Municipal Airport. It’s the gold standard for pilots, but it sits on a plateau that sometimes misses the heavier stuff that follows the river valley. Second, you have the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) Hydromet gauges. These are scattered along the Guadalupe River and are vital for tracking flash flood risks.
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Yesterday, the LCRA gauge at G272 (Guadalupe River at Kerrville) showed a modest uptick in flow, but nothing that would suggest a "rise" or a flood threat. It’s a soaking rain, not a "get the cattle to high ground" rain. Finally, there's CoCoRaHS. This is a network of residents. If you want to know how much rain Kerrville got yesterday in the actual neighborhoods, this is where the truth lives.
One observer near the VA Hospital logged 0.92 inches, while another out toward Ingram reported 1.10 inches. It’s all about where those specific thunderheads decided to park themselves for twenty minutes.
The Guadalupe River and the Drought Context
We have to talk about the context. We’ve been dry. Really dry.
When Kerrville gets an inch of rain, it’s great for the St. Augustine grass and the cedar trees (though nobody really wants to help the cedars), but it doesn't do much for the aquifer. The Edwards Plateau is a thirsty beast. Most of the rain we saw yesterday likely soaked directly into the topsoil. For the Guadalupe River to actually see a significant rise, we need "runoff" rain. That happens when the ground is already saturated and the water starts sliding into the creeks like Turtle Creek or Quinlan Creek.
Yesterday wasn't a runoff event. It was a "thirst-quencher."
If you headed down to Louise Hays Park this morning, the river looked a bit murkier, sure. Maybe some cedar mulch floating near the dam. But the flow rate hasn't jumped significantly. According to the USGS gauge, the discharge is still hovering well below the historical median for this time of year. We’re essentially chipping away at a massive moisture deficit that’s been building for months.
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The "Cedar Fever" Factor
There is one silver lining to yesterday’s rain that every Kerrville local appreciates: the pollen wash. If you’ve been sneezing your head off, that 0.84 inches of rain was a literal godsend. Rain knocks the Juniperus ashei (Mountain Cedar) pollen out of the air and plasters it to the ground.
It won't last forever. Once the sun comes out and the wind kicks back up from the north, the trees will start firing again. But for today? The air is actually breathable. That's a win that doesn't show up on a rain gauge but definitely shows up in how your sinuses feel when you walk out the door.
Looking Ahead: Is More Rain Coming to Kerrville?
The atmospheric setup suggests this wasn't a one-off. While yesterday's totals were decent, the moisture remains trapped in the lower levels of the atmosphere. Meteorologists are eyeing another disturbance rolling in from the west.
The ground is now "primed." Because we got that inch or so yesterday, any rain that falls in the next 48 hours is much more likely to run off. That means we need to keep an eye on low-water crossings. We all know those spots—Water Street near the river, or the crossings out on Goat Creek Road. They don't take much to become impassable.
If you’re planning on heading out toward Fredericksburg or Hunt, just be aware that the hills hold onto water differently than the city center. A half-inch in Hunt can mean a sudden surge in the North Fork of the Guadalupe by the time it reaches the Ingram dam.
What You Should Do Now
Knowing the rain totals is one thing, but acting on it is another. Since we had a decent soaking, now is actually the best time to do a few things around the house.
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First, turn off your automatic sprinklers. Seriously. If you got an inch of rain yesterday, your lawn is set for at least a week, even with the Texas sun. Overwatering right after a rainstorm just leads to fungus issues, especially with our humidity levels.
Second, check your gutters. If you noticed water spilling over the sides yesterday instead of coming out the downspouts, you’ve got a clog of oak tassels or cedar debris. Clean them out now before the next round hits, or you’re looking at potential foundation issues.
Third, monitor the USGS water dashboard. If you live near the river or a creek, don't just look at the rain gauge. Look at the "cubic feet per second" (cfs) data. That tells you if the water is moving faster than usual.
Lastly, if you're a gardener, this is the perfect window to put down some organic fertilizer. The soil is soft, the moisture is there to help the nutrients move, and the plants are in "growth mode" after the drink they just got.
Kerrville’s weather is a moving target. Yesterday was a solid deposit in the "water bank," but we’re a long way from ending the drought. Stay weather-aware, keep your wipers in good shape, and maybe thank a neighbor with a rain gauge for keeping the real numbers honest.