Travis County Sheriff's Office releases advisory on flooding for COTA event this weekend

AUSTIN — With the flooding issue across Central Texas, the Travis County Sheriff's Office released an advisory ahead of the Formula 1 race at Circuit of the Americas this weekend.

The statement read, "As our current Texas weather/flooding situation continues to develop, we have the potential for unprecedented water flow from open flood gates. We therefore, warn patrons traveling to COTA for F1 race weekend to be diligent and prepared for possible road closures and detours. Flooding due to high water volume in the Colorado River has the potential to affect roadways leading to COTA. Patrons should monitor COTA social media sites for up-to-the-minute route recommendations. Deputies will be directing traffic and monitoring closed roadways. It is illegal to drive around barricades and deputies will strictly enforce the law for the sake of safety. Turn around, don’t drown."

As water continues to fill up Lake Travis, more floodgates may be opened at Mansfield Dam over the next few days. This could lead to flooding in areas around Lake Austin, Lady Bird Lake, and downstream along the Colorado River.

RELATED:

Waterfront residents in Austin-area urged to take precaution as floodgate operations continue

Lake Travis reaches 5th highest crest, more floodgate openings on hold

Reserved tickets for COTA Formula 1 race in Austin sold out for first time since 2012

This flooding could lead to road closures and detours if the water does cross roadways.

While the flooding may impact routes to the event, COTA officials say the event will continue rain or shine, unless weather threatens guest safety.

To keep updated on route recommendations you can follow COTA on their social media channels with Facebook, here. You can also follow COTA on Twitter, here.

For continued coverage of the flooding situation across Central Texas you can watch KVUE ABC and check KVUE.com. Also, you can follow KVUE on Twitter and Facebook.