AUSTIN (KXAN) — After already seeing 2-5 inches of rain in the Austin area overnight Tuesday, an additional 2-5 inches are expected through the weekend. There’s even a concern about potential flooding and lightning danger.
KXAN’s First Warning Weather team is forecasting an 80% chance of thunderstorms — unfortunate conditions for the thousands planning to attend the first weekend of Austin City Limits Festival in Zilker Park.
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While the City of Austin doesn’t share specific details of safety and security for large scale events, a spokesperson had some information on how ACL ticketholders will be notified in the event of inclement weather.
The ACL spokesperson said the festival is monitoring weather conditions in partnership with the National Weather Service and festival-goers will be notified as weather impacts any festival events.
“In the event of an emergency, safety messaging will come from the stage video screens, announcements from the loud speakers, push notifications on the official ACL Festival mobile app, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and instructions from festival staff and security,” said the spokesperson.
ACL will monitor weather on-site via six different weather stations set up at every stage. You can view web cameras and weather information recorded at each stage here.
The city says planning for inclement weather at big events like ACL starts months in advance. Organizers are required to submit a full plan for how they’ll handle issues like lightning or flooding.
The city gets direct updates from National Weather Service meteorologist and will work with ACL producers to make decisions on whether to delay or cancel acts. The city says they’ll work together to make decisions day-of, unless flash flooding is expected ahead of time.
FOR THE LATEST WEATHER UPDATES IN CENTRAL TEXAS: Visit KXAN First Warning Weather.
KXAN has asked ACL for comment on its plans to keep festivalgoers safe in circumstances of potential lightning or flooding. We’ll update this story if we get a response.
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