City of Austin Climate Hazards and Adaptations

This report was prepared by University of Texas at Austin graduate students in the Community and Regional Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Public Affairs programs with the guidance of Marc Coudert, Climate Resilience and Adaptation Manager at the City of Austin.

Alyssa Berry

Andie Duong

Tamar Farchy

Katherine Koslan

Andrew Lesmes

Whitney Linder

Oriana Lopez

Emma Margulies

Audrey Matthews

Maeve McHugh

Zoe Parker

Gabrielle Patracuolla

Carrie Smith

Krista Weatherford

Jessica Young

Executive Summary

This report discusses how climate hazards impact vulnerable communities across the city of Austin. As climate change worsens, urban areas like Austin face a heightened risk for extreme weather events. The impacts of these events disproportionately affect socially vulnerable populations such as people that are facing housing insecurity, disabled people, low-income communities, and communities of color. This report focuses on six of the most common hazards experienced in the Austin area: heat, wildfire, drought, flooding, winter storms, and wind. These interrelated hazards have macro-level impacts on the city of Austin while challenging the adaptive capacity of vulnerable residents and communities at a smaller scale. In each hazard section, we summarize the existing conditions, climate projections, impacts to infrastructure and public health, and offer recommendations for adapting to these hazards at the household, community, city, and regional level. Our final policy recommendations call on community members and policymakers to advocate for progressive policies on climate adaptation. This tool is intended to serve as a resource for policymakers and community members to learn and prepare for extreme weather events that can affect their neighborhoods and the Austin area.

Climate Vulnerability in Austin

There are 42 socioeconomic and built environment variables to quantify social vulnerability to environmental hazards (Bixler & Yang, 2020). The map below shows Austin’s multi-hazard risk and illustrates this climate vulnerability and highlights the Eastern Crescent as an area more at-risk for floods, wildfires, and extreme heat.

Bixler, R. Patrick and Yang, Euijin. 2020. “Climate Vulnerability in Austin: A multi-risk assessment.” An Austin Area Sustainability Indicators and Planet Texas 2050 Unpublished Technical Report.

The Eastern Crescent

The Eastern Crescent of Austin stretches from the Rundberg area at the top, extends through Pflugerville, Colony Park, Del Valle and Montopolis, and ends with Dove Springs in the South.

Credit: 2017 Central Health Demographic Report

Heat

Recent Story

In Summer 2022, for both Thelma Reyes and Daysi Manguia, the air conditioning in their apartments was broken, causing the interior of their apartment to reach over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Under the Texas Property Code, tenants are not guaranteed A/C units in rental properties. With apartment management slow to react, the extreme heat in their apartments forced both women to make tough decisions. In Ms. Manguia's case, her A/C unit was repaired only after she withheld rent in order to pay for a hotel for her and her four children. Ms. Reyes decided to contact her state representative to lobby for her air conditioning repairs to be made.

Current Conditions

Summer 2022 ushered in some of the hottest days in Austin’s history, ranking just behind 2011 for the city’s hottest on-record. Over the three months of the city’s meteorological summer, Austin experienced 68 hot summer days over 100°F. July was the city’s hottest ever, with 29 of its 31 days over 100°F. Historical data shows that the prevalence of hot summer days has nearly doubled in the past decade. During Summer 2012, Austin experienced just 35 days over 100°F (Hinton, 2022).

Projections

Infrastructure Impacts

Summer heat waves may induce record-breaking energy demand to run air conditioners, leading to higher energy bills for Austin residents. These bill increases especially impact those living in older units without modern efficiency upgrades. Rising temperatures contribute to the depletion of the City’s water supply, as increased evaporation dries up reservoirs. In turn, Austin Water adopts conservation and adaptation measures in response, leading to more frequent water use restrictions. The City’s power generation facilities utilize stored water for cooling; thus, the City’s electricity production is particularly sensitive to increased heat and water temperatures.

Extreme heat can place stress on the power grid, leading to power shortages. Click photo for more information from The Austin Chronicle. Photo source: The Austin Chronicle, Getty Images

Health Impacts

The most common health impacts of extreme heat are heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and dehydration. Heat exhaustion occurs when the body loses a large amount of water and salt, usually due to excessive sweating and dehydration (CDC, 2022). Untreated heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke, when a person's body heats up to a point where it can no longer cool itself down (Mayo Clinic, 2021). Even for people not impacted by a heat-related illness, extreme heat can affect their health indirectly. For example, fatigue from hot temperatures can decrease productivity for people that work outside, like construction and agricultural workers (Kiersz, 2019). Additionally, heat waves contribute to higher levels of ground-level ozone pollution. Exposure to ozone-polluted air can cause breathing difficulties and worsen existing respiratory conditions, like asthma (EPA, 2022).

Recommendations

Home & Community:

  • Stay hydrated

  • Limit outdoor exposure and dress appropriately when outside

  • Check on vulnerable family members and friends

  • Implement home cooling measures if able, such as rooftop gardens

City:

  • Develop a heat response plan and educate the community on heat-related risks

  • Inform the public of community resources and ensure communications are made in multiple languages, reaching the most vulnerable communities

  • Provide cooling centers in city facilities and resilience hubs

  • Invest in equitably distributed green infrastructure such as increased community tree canopy to minimize urban heat island effect

Regional:

  • Weatherize power utilities to withstand extreme heat

  • Enhance and codify protections for renters, such as guaranteed air conditioning and maintenance

  • Support equitable job transitions for industry sectors impacted by extreme heat (e.g. agricultural workers)

Winter Storm

Photo from Texas Comptroller

“I live in an area where as soon as the temperatures dropped, the lights went out. And they stayed off for 4 days. Imagine living in your home without even being able to use the bathroom properly and not having water to meet your basic hygiene needs. That was truly a nightmare. And then the freeze came. One gentleman that lived in the second house down, died during that time that we had no electricity.”

Carol Rivera, 77, Houston, on her experience during Winter Storm Uri in 2021

Winter Storm Uri swept through the City of Austin in February 2021. With severe winter weather being so rare, the local and state governments were caught unprepared for a winter event of this magnitude. Residents grappled with a precarious electric grid, poorly equipped water pipes, and impassable roads. During the 164 hours of freezing temperatures, the City of Austin saw 40% of Austin Energy customers lose power, 2,449 reports of broken pipes, $195 billion in damages, and, by conservative estimates, the death of 246 people .

The financial and emotional toll of the storm had a lasting effect on Texas, and Carol’s story illustrates the experience of hundreds of other Texans who lost water and power in their homes. As winter approaches each year, Texans brace themselves for the possibility of another freeze, where the possibility of losing heat and water for an undetermined amount of time still looms.

Photo by Audrey Matthews

Photo by Audrey Matthews

Photo from Getty Images

Current Conditions

Following Winter Storm Uri, the City Manager directed City of Austin agencies to conduct an analysis of the City’s actions during the Winter Storm and determine what worked, what went wrong, why systems failed, and future solutions to fill the identified gaps. Agencies that undertook these reports include, Austin Energy, Water, Homeland Security & Emergency Management, and a City Audit. Reports on the storm focus on the unprepared infrastructure system, including uninsulated pipes, an ill-equipped power grid, and energy market failures that led to loss of power and potable water for several days. This lack of preparation negatively impacted the health, safety and well-being of Austin residents, with BIPOC communities and low-income neighborhoods disproportionately affected. As outlined in the infrastructure impacts section below, little has been done to address the conditions that made Winter Storm Uri a catastrophe.

Projections

The most recent climate change projections for the City of Austin predict fewer cold weather events in future years. However, when winter storms do occur, they are predicted to last longer, causing greater stress on systems already ill-equipped to endure freezing or near-freezing temperatures. The consequences of these events coalesce to hinder the City's infrastructure, ecological, and human systems.

Photo from Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Infrastructure Impacts

During Winter Storm Uri, the icy weather affected natural systems that are not adapted to survive in such conditions. Meanwhile, infrastructure failures led to hunger, health emergencies, trauma, and most severely, death. It is estimated that between 246 and 978 people died due to unforeseen consequences of the winter storm. When power goes out, so does the source of heat for most homes. Desperate to warm up, residents may turn to alternative methods to heat their homes that may pose a risk to their health and well-being. During Winter Storm Uri, at least 11 people died and more than 1,400 people visited emergency rooms due to carbon monoxide poisoning as the result of using a gas stove or turning on a car for warmth without proper ventilation.

Central Texas is not built to sustain long periods of freezing or near freezing temperatures. The region suffers from uninsulated pipes, a lack of snow plows and resources available to treat icy roads, an outdated electricity grid, and policies for winterizing natural gas pipeline. Though power plants have been subject to new weatherization standards, they remain largely untested since 2021.

Photos from Ricardo B. Brazziell, Austin American-Statesman

Health Impacts

Winter weather brings with it an array of hazards that can directly and indirectly impact one's health, with disproportionate impacts felt by underserved and underprepared communities. Direct health impacts include physical injuries from icy sidewalks and poor traction in freezing and snowy conditions. Additionally, roads can become unsafe if left untreated and unplowed, leaving drivers at risk of crashing and also impeding emergency response vehicles' ability to navigate. Without adequate winter attire, residents are vulnerable to hypothermia, pneumonia, frost bite and even death from exposure to freezing temperatures. This is also a risk in homes that are poorly insulated and in the event of power outages, or rate increases (as seen during Winter Storm Uri) that make heating buildings more difficult. When left without heat, carbon monoxide poisoning is also a concern, as residents attempt to heat their homes with gas stoves or other means. Indirect impacts to health include the mental toll of stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD as a result of the stressors that accompany winter weather events. Additionally, disruptions transportation networks can impact food systems, leaving residents without access to nutrition, create financial stress for employees unable to miss work but are unable to due to road conditions, as well as financial stress in the face of rising energy costs and potential home repairs following the freeze.

Recommendations

Home & Community:

  • Utilize resilience hubs as a refuge during climate events like winter storms, where residents can warm up, access potable water, and charge devices.

  • Educate households on best practices to stay safe and warm, along with home improvements that can help mitigate damage

  • Provide access to high-quality and affordable healthcare (physical and mental) in the wake of climate disasters

  • Insulate homes and buildings against cold weather and encourage energy efficiency

City:

  • Adopt regulations to ensure all homes are equipped with carbon monoxide detectors, launch a public awareness campaign on the dangers of carbon monoxide, and provide accessible and affordable carbon monoxide detectors to all households

Regional:

  • Create a winter storm action plan to be initiated ahead of climate events ensuring that resources and personnel are ready to spring into action when needed

  • Weatherize power plants to withstand extreme cold

  • Winterize existing water pipes and implement standards for future construction

  • Invest in snow plows and materials to treat icy roads to limit disruptions to transportation

Drought

Recent Story

Austin and the surrounding communities take pride in cultivating food that is native and unique to this region. One such crop is celebrated by many communities: hot peppers. As reported in the Austin Chronicle, hot pepper growers like Hill Country Hot Peppers (HCHP), Joe’s Microgreens, and Austin Community College all had to find new ways to adapt to more hot days without rain (Richmond, 2022). HCHP owner Ron Tilton said, "The ground is so dry, we use drip irrigation so we water each plant specifically. But it takes hours to drip through the ground. Most farmers don't have that setup. We can only assume into the future, we'll enclose acres in a structure to control the temperature inside.” Those with the means to convert their local food production to hydroponic, drip, or enclosed irrigation may be forced to make more permanent changes to deal with climate change. Without support from the City and County, the celebrated hot sauce and hot pepper crop in Austin could diminish, along with the businesses that produce them.

Hill Country Hot Peppers' Ron Tilton displaying current crop in hydroponic dome

Savannah Rugg, Austin Community College's Agricultural Sciences Department Chair working on their 17-acre farm

Current Conditions

As of October 2022, Travis County is experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions, which correspond with cracked soil, decreased crop yields, sensitivity to fire dangers, and the need for supplemental feed for livestock (U.S. Drought Monitor, 2022). At this time, Travis County has received roughly 10 fewer inches of rainfall than in an average year and Lake Travis, which serves as the City of Austin’s drinking water source, is roughly half-full (Villalpando, 2022). Unlike other natural disasters, a drought’s severity, length, and extent are not apparent until the drought has ended and moisture levels have returned to normal. You can check Travis County’s current status on the image or text below:

Projections

Climate projections developed by the City of Austin in 2022 predict that in the future, the Central Texas region will likely experience hotter weather and more variability in precipitation. The latest projections indicate there will be both more dry days and more annual rainfall (Niyogi, 2022). Specifically, the projections estimate that there will be an increase in the number of consecutive days without rainfall - exacerbating drought conditions. The projected increase in dry days, taken with the extreme regional population growth, is expected to worsen droughts and water supply issues in Austin and the State of Texas.

Infrastructure Impacts

The most obvious concern related to drought is the reduced potable water supply for human consumption and use. Irregular water supplies restrict the potable water supply and the ability of our municipal water stations to clean and purify water for drinking level standards without consistent flow rates. Decreased water supply may also lead to issues with maintaining the city’s energy infrastructure. Energy generation is the most significant type of water consumption in Austin, and this reciprocal relationship between water availability and energy can create strain on both energy grids and potable water supply if water is less available (Scanlon, 2019). Critically, drought conditions increase the risk of other natural hazards such as flood, heat, and wildfire.During the 2008-2016 drought in Austin, the lack of moisture in the soil and the extreme heat combined to create a deadly 32,000-acre blaze in Bastrop that destroyed thousands of homes and had lasting impacts on the region’s ecosystem (TPWD, 2012). Without proper water reserves in the future, firefighters may not have the pressure or water supply necessary to fully quench the flames.

Image from Austin Water 2015 Report

Health Impacts

Even a short period of drought can lead to severe health consequences for residents and their animals or pets. The most immediate damage can be felt from shortages of safe drinking water. Warm, still water and the exposure of water beds to air can lead to explosions of bacteria and toxins in the water, increasing the risk of infectious disease spread and the prevalence of harmful algae blooms (HABs) (CDC, 2020). Longer-term droughts lead to a lack of moisture in the soil and strict irrigation restrictions, which in turn causes lower crop yields (CDC, 2020). This forces farmers to charge higher prices for fresh food, which in turn contributes to higher levels of malnutrition among lower-income households. Decreased air quality, especially in areas that suffer from an inversion effect, increases individual risk of developing asthma and lung disease while exacerbating the negative symptoms experienced by those who already suffer from those illnesses (CDC, 2020).

Image Sources

Recommendations

Home & Community:

  • Monitor Toxic Algae Blooms with the City of Austin's HAB Service (click here)

    • Do not swim in Lady Bird Lake unless near Barton Creek or allow your dog to during harmful algae blooms

    • Understand the potential risks to your health and safety from HAB

  • Reduce water use

  • Use low-flow shower heads, toilets, and faucets, which will improve your water bill

  • Reduce lawn watering during times of drought

  • Use non-potable water (i.e. rainwater catchment systems) for watering plants or other appropriate non-potable uses

  • Fill the whole dishwasher when using, as it can be more effective and efficient than handwashing

  • Use cool (not hot) water to wash clothes

  • Switch to non polluting fertilizers

City:

  • Explore alternative drinking water sources

  • Expand public programs assisting with the distribution of nutritious food

  • Improve healthcare access to mitigate the impacts of increased disease risk

Regional:

  • Build regional partnerships with nearby municipalities to ensure there are long-term pathways to abundant clean water for Austin and surrounding areas

  • Monitor discharges in the watershed that may lead to increased pollution

  • Support job transitions in areas impacted by agricultural job losses due to drought


Flooding

Recent Story

In 2015, following the 2013 Halloween Flood, another flood - also on Halloween - wreaked havoc in the Onion Creek neighborhood.

The consequences were severe for Frank and Inez Garcia. Inez Garcia lost her life after being swept away from the storm, the home the couple inhabited for decades had been destroyed. Frank and Inez had been married for 48 years. Frank said, "She was there for me when I was sick. She was there for my grandbabies (Torre, 2016).” He remembers blacking out as water overtook them.

When he regained consciousness, he was clinging to a tree and his wife was gone. Garza remembers the flood like it was yesterday. "Where was my wife? She was just there. It happened so fast and I couldn't do anything about it. It was beyond my control.”

Current Conditions

In 1998, the Central Texas region experienced significant flooding from Hurricane Madeline. 31 people died as a result of the floods, and in areas that observed the highest levels of rainfall, the storm qualified as a 500-year rain event.

The Central Texas region experienced other major flooding events throughout the twentieth century, including the 1900 Austin Dam Break, the 1935 Upper Llano River flood event, the 1981 Memorial Day flood, the Memorial Weekend flood of 2015, and the Hill Country Flood of 2018. The Onion Creek area of Austin was particularly devastated by severe floods on Halloween in 2013 and 2015. Three people died in 2013, and another three passed away in 2015. The Halloween floods also resulted in over $30 million in property damages (Diaz, 2014).

Watershed Protection purchased 815 vulnerable properties between 1999-2021. Following the Halloween flood, City Council approved $35.5 million in buyouts to demolish homes in the neighborhood (Norwood, 2019). These buyouts exacerbated existing trauma in the community and caused massive displacement of families from their homes.

2013 Halloween Floods

Anna Vallejo, a woman who lost all of her belongings to the flood

Austin Chronicle

KUT


2015 Memorial Day Floods

Photo taken from the West End of Austin, near Pease Park

Austin Chronicle



Projections

The current annual average precipitation is 32 inches. The high emissions scenario for 2040 and 2070 is 32 inches and 33 inches. Additionally, the high emissions scenario for the number of days per year with more than 2 inches of rainfall will go up by one day every year until 2100. The maximum 5 day rainfall will go from 6 inches to 7.5 and 8 inches, respectively. The projects predict that two extreme weather events - intense precipitation on one side, and drought events on the other- will increase in frequency in the Austin area. In the higher emission scenario, the average annual precipitation is projected to increase by 40% (Nyigoi, 2022). Both of these extremes contribute to heightened flooding conditions within Austin.

Precipitation Projections until 2100 (Niyogi, 2022)


Infrastructure Impacts

Flooding is extremely disruptive to property, infrastructure, and people’s livelihoods. Economic impacts include property damage and rebuilding costs, increased maintenance of infrastructure systems, increased emergency response cost, and economic losses to businesses. Environmental impacts include vegetation damage, debris cleanup, and decreased groundwater quality.

Health Impacts

Floods can cause significant health impacts by hampering the provision of evacuee social services such as emergency shelter, disrupting the continuity of existing services during extreme events, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases, and causing emergency stress on communities.

Additionally, flood events disproportionately impact socially vulnerable populations, especially low-income communities and people of color. Areas such as the Dove Springs neighborhood, where 70% of the families are Latinx, are concentrated in the Onion Creek floodplain. This demonstrates the importance of social vulnerability as a lens for understanding the impacts of flooding in the Austin area.

Recommendations

Home & Community:

  • Prepare and weatherize infrastructure for increased severe precipitation

    • Includes elevating structures, upgrading windows and doors, and fortifying roofing

City:

  • Allocate resources to increasing the number of resilience hubs in vulnerable communities susceptible to floodplains such as Dove Springs

    • Should include hub activation, community involvement, and facility upgrades

  • Leverage federal funds to utilize buyouts

    • Encourage households to purchase flood insurance and be more conscious of their flood vulnerability

    • Transform these land banks into community amenities that residents can utilize

Regional:

  • Invest in city and regional-level green infrastructure projects to protect environmentally sensitive areas and integrate nature into urban environments

    • Many benefits include improving health and wellness, greater quality of life, sustaining ecological health, combating climate change, and improving resilience (Imagine Austin, 2018)

  • Reduce impervious cover and incorporate greater green space into urban areas to increase capacity for ground water absorption during flood events

    • Includes parks, conserved land, tree canopy, trails, community and school gardens, and green stormwater infrastructure

  • Increase the area of conserved land in the Eastern Crescent and the Blackland Prairie


Wildfire

Recent Story

On September 4, 2011, two hours before her wedding ceremony in Bee Cave, Cynthia Costa was approached by her wedding coordinator about a brief delay: “It’s not a big deal; there’s just some traffic or something going on so we’re going to hold off.” Later, once Costa’s reception had begun, her husband’s coworkers pointed out a column of black smoke in the distance and remarked, “That smoke is from the fires; everything’s on fire around here.” The “traffic” that delayed Costa’s ceremony was a road closure. A fast-growing wildfire had just jumped four-lane Ranch Road 620 in Steiner Ranch, barreling toward residential neighborhoods at alarming speed, with flames reaching 60 feet high.

Steiner Ranch Wildfire Evacuation, Sept. 4, 2011. Source: Travis Co. Fire Marshals Office

Current Conditions

As fearsome and destructive as the record fire season of 2011 was, smaller grass fires in Austin's Eastern Crescent are a lesser-known but frequent occurrence with negative health impacts on socially-vulnerable populations. Wildfires are not rare in Austin: there were over 300 wildfire events between 2005 and 2015 within city limits. According to the 2020 Austin Emergency Operations Plan, wildfire is one of the top three highest priorities for emergency operations in Austin based on risk of loss of life, financial losses, and other factors impacting community health and safety. Wildfire risk is highest where woods and grasslands border homes and urban areas (the “wildland-urban interface”), but the embers from a fire can affect areas miles away, and fire spreads quickly in dense areas.




300+

Wildfire Events in Austin (2005-2015)

Land Cover in Austin. Source: College of William & Mary Center for Geospatial Analysis.

Wildfire Risk in Austin. Source: City of Austin Wildfire Division.

54,000

Homes at risk of wildfire in Austin

Although West Austin faces high wildfire risk because of homes set within forested hilly areas, nearly 54,000 homes throughout Austin are at risk. In fact, homes in East Austin are vulnerable due to the amount of grass and shrubs, which are highly flammable and lead to fast-spreading fires.

Projections

  • Austin’s climate is becoming warmer with more dry days.

  • Warm, dry conditions can help fires spread and make them harder to put out, while also enabling the spread of insects that can make trees more susceptible to fire.

  • Climatic projections suggest more frequent, more intense wildfires, though on-the-ground factors like vegetation patterns, land use, and fire management or suppression regimes also play a significant role in determining Austin’s wildfire risk.

[do we convert to paragraph format to align with other sections?

Source: Austin Wildfire Coalition.

Source: Austin Fire Department, Wildfire Division.

Infrastructure Impacts

Wildfire risk in Austin is high for nearly all transportation assets, including roadways. Wildfires can destroy street and safety signs, damage pavement, and leave debris like partially burned trees strewn across roadways. These hazards lead to unsafe roads and traffic bottlenecks that interfere with wildfire evacuations and cause accidents. Key corridors like US 290/SH 71 and Loop 360 are particularly vulnerable.

Health Impacts

Wildfires can be devastating to health and safety. Smoke exacerbates asthma and other respiratory illnesses by irritating airways, while fine PM2.5 particulates disrupt cardiovascular and respiratory processes. These issues are not limited to the area immediately surrounding the fire; air pollution from wildfires can travel thousands of miles, based on wind patterns. The fire itself is a clear risk to health as well, with the possibility of smoke inhalation, catastrophic burns, and death. Firefighters, public safety personnel, and residents may also suffer from indirect harms like post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms in the short and long-term aftermath of the disaster. The materials used to fight wildfires may inflict their own harm as well: PFAS in firefighting foam are known to leach into soils and water bodies following wildfires and can negatively affect human health.

Certain groups of people are particularly vulnerable to wildfires, including low-income and disabled folks, households without a car, children, the elderly, and those with limited-English proficiency. When these vulnerabilities overlap with factors like race, asthma rates, and population growth in areas like the Eastern Crescent, the risk multiplies: these intersecting vulnerabilities make it harder to prepare for and recover from the wildfire.

Recommendations

Home & Community:

  • Prepare today! The Austin Wildfire Coalition has created guides to wildfire preparation in both English and Spanish.

  • Know your wildfire risk by using the "What's My Wildfire Risk" tool.

  • Bookmark this page! You can track current wildfire activity across the state and stay informed about your risk in real time.

  • Create a wildfire action plan as a household.

  • Maintain landscaping and limit the amount of leaves, branches, and dead grass on lawns.

  • When possible, use native plants in your yard - they are better suited to help manage and survive wildfire.

  • Increase ventilation and air quality indoors.

  • While you're making your plan, include options for your pets. The AMEF has materials in English and Spanish that can help.

City:

  • Educate households on landscaping and vegetation maintenance.

  • Increase awareness on burn bans and increased wildfire risk days.

Regional:

  • Create regional emergency response plans and reflect on possible improvements after each climate event.

  • Ensure weather alert systems for residents are accessible in multiple languages and widely-shared.

  • Increase public education about health impacts from wildfires and compounding risk to children, the elderly, and those with respiratory illnesses.

  • Manage public lands with controlled burns and grazers to reduce fuel load.

  • Maintain regional assets like powerlines that can ignite wildfires if neglected.

Want to learn more?

  • Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center does research on "prescribed" or "controlled" burns, which prevent out-of-control wildfires. Learn more HERE.

  • The Austin Area Wildfire Hub provides interesting information about prescribed burns, resilient landscapes, and the Firewise Communities Program.

Wind

Michael Talamantez comforts his girlfriend Derry Schroer after his house was destroyed by a tornado while they were inside, March 21, 2022, in Round Rock, outside Austin, Texas. "I thought I was going to die," he said.

Austin American-Statesman via USA Today Network

Recent Story

During the afternoon and evening hours of March 21, 2022, five tornadoes touched down around the eastern circumference of Austin. The tornadoes and surrounding severe weather and hail was the result of “a strong upper-level disturbance forecast to overspread a moist and unstable air mass near the surface [source].” This variance in pressure caused the winds to turn with height, “with strong southwesterly upper-level winds gliding over brisk southerly winds at ground level [source].” The aftermath of the tornadoes was devastating, with over 65 homes damaged and countless downed trees.

Windrose plot provided by Iowa State University

Current Conditions

Based on information from Iowa State University, Austin has a consistent year-round southerly wind that averages 8.2 mph with a northerly wind appearing in the winter and early spring. The northerly winter winds bring very dry and gusty air from cold fronts and create risk for wildfire. Severe winter weather can also occur when these winds are coupled with south and southeast winds and moist air from the Gulf of Mexico.

Projections

Generally, the Earth's climate gradually transitions from warm and temperate along the equator to colder as one travels closer to northern and southern poles. In examining wind patterns at a global scale, this variation in temperature creates wind that transfers energy from a high-pressure area to low pressure area. But what happens if the temperature at the poles and at the equator become similar? Since local historical wind data only goes back 70 years, the forecasts vary between increasingly stronger winds and what is known as a “global stilling” . The common thread in these forecasts, however, is volatility.

Lack of wind flow can also exacerbate the urban heat island effect. The urban heat island effect is the localized increase in temperature due to the absorption of heat by a high ratio of impervious surface cover (such as sidewalks and pavement) coupled with a lack of vegetation. The lack of wind flow in an area experiencing the urban heat island effect may increase temperatures further. In some instances, the lack of wind may also be caused by a phenomenon called urban canyons, where tall buildings on opposing sides of the street limit the directional flow of wind.

Infrastructure Impacts

A Good Morning Tree Service (Austin, TX)

  1. Tree and property damage

Austin-American Statesman

2. Exacerbation of wildfires

Austin-American Statesman

3. Air quality

Health Impacts

The changes in wind as a factor of health and safety can be divided into two events: (1) wind as a shock, or natural disaster, and (2) as a long-term stressor, and the direct and indirect impacts of each event, respectively. Tornadoes, or “shock” wind events, can cause damage to natural systems and infrastructure and people in its path risk being struck by flying and falling objects.

Direct Impacts:

  • Risk of global stilling is the lack of movement of air pollutants over a populated region and the inability to move air out of urban heat islands

  • Respiratory health problems such as asthma as well as heat exhaustion

Indirect Impacts:

  • After a tornado event include the increased likelihood of infectious diseases due to disruptions in sanitary infrastructure and community-living in mass shelters

  • Risks of global stilling include lack of biodiversity for wind-pollinated plants and allocation of water resources through evapotranspiration

[change from bullets to paragraph format?]

1922 twin tornadoes. Images courtesy of Austin History Center - Austin Public Library.

Recommendations

Home & Community:

  • Plan for rapidly occurring climate events such as tornadoes, hail and lightning. More information can be found by clicking here.

City:

  • Update emergency shelters to higher quality of life during necessary use (i.e. screening around sleeping arrangement, areas for communal gathering instead of a waiting room area)

  • Continue to invest in updating/maintaining utilities and street trees

  • Promote vertical zoning regulations that consider techniques to mitigate the urban heat island effect

Regional:

  • Consider disaster response strategies in rural areas with less resources

What Austin and You Can Do

Existing Policy and Commitments

  • In 2021, the City of Austin adopted the Climate Equity Plan, which promises to equitably achieve net-zero community emissions by 2040.

  • Per City Council Resolution 20210408-028, The City of Austin, in collaboration with community partners, school districts, and Travis County leadership, is developing a network of Resilience Hubs to support community climate resilience in the Eastern Crescent of Austin.

  • Texas law currently requires that homebuyers and renters are notified if they are going to be living in a floodplain.

    • For homebuyers, sellers must currently disclose if the home is in a 500-year floodplain and for renters, landlords must disclose if the apartment is in a 100-year floodplain.

  • Planet Texas 2050 is a UT-sponsored Grand Challenge researching resiliency across Texas.

  • The City of Austin Office of Sustainability is currently working on the City's first food plan.

  • The federal Inflation Reduction Act appropriated $369 billion in funding to address climate change.

Policy Recommendations

  • Develop emergency response plans for immediate action following climate events

  • Weather alert systems and communications should be made in multiple languages and consider alternative emergency broadcast strategies to communities that may have less interaction with the government or do not have telecommunications devices

  • Climate research and projections should be conducted in collaboration among the City of Austin, research institutions and community groups in the area

  • Land is managed holistically, addressing private land ownership vs. city goals of mitigation

  • Further develop regional partnerships

Climate Hazard Solutions Chart

Sources (click to expand)