For three days this Memorial Day weekend, Texans can take advantage of the second of this year s three sales tax holidays. Last month, you could buy emergency supplies tax-free, and most school supplies will see a similar discount in August. But from Saturday through Monday, shoppers can save money on certain items carrying an Energy Star logo or the WaterSense logo.
“Outdated water systems and inefficient appliances, along with triple-digit temperatures, can put a tremendous strain on our water supplies and power grids,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said in a statement. “By taking advantage of these sales tax holidays, Texans can make upgrades that will help alleviate those pressures and lower their utility bills while saving money on state and local sales taxes.”
The National Hurricane Center’s official list of Atlantic tropical cyclone names for 2021 is out – did your name make the cut this year?
Actually, there’s not much mystery to the list because the names are used in rotation and recycled every six years. For instance, many of the names in 2021 will be used again in 2027.
But sometimes the named storms gain enough notoriety for their death and damage that the names are “retired” from the list – sort of the meteorological version of retiring the jersey number of a star athlete.
The names of Atlantic tropical storms are maintained and updated through a strict procedure by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization.
The Atlantic hurricane season doesn t start until June 1, but meteorologists on Friday afternoon were tracking a well-defined low pressure system over the western Gulf of Mexico with winds of 30-35 mph near and east of the center, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The tropical disturbance stood a 60% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours, but forecasters warned Friday that regardless of development, the system could produce heavy rainfall over portions of southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana through Saturday. Citing recent downpours in that area in the past week, the hurricane center also warned that any additional heavy rain could lead to flash flooding there.
The flash flood watch for the Austin metro area has been canceled, the National Weather Service says.
The affected area, including Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties, is no longer under the flood watch.
However, locations east of Interstate 35, including Fayette and Lee counties, will remain under a flash flood watch until Thursday afternoon.
I-35 corridor l Wednesday morning
Although the Austin metro area remains under a flash flood watch for another 24 hours, the urban centers in the Interstate 35 corridor have stayed fairly dry for much of Wednesday morning.
University of Texas meteorology lecturer and longtime weather broadcaster Troy Kimmel on Wednesday said he revising his precipitation outlook.