Tornado confirmed in Williamson County
Several tornadoes touched down Monday evening across Central Texas, with major damage and some injuries reported near Elgin, and damage from another two tornadoes reported in Round Rock and Hutto.
At least three people were injured in Elgin, including two people inside a collapsed structure who were still being rescued Monday night, Elgin police said. One person was also taken to a hospital in Austin, though most of the damage was outside the city’s limits.
The Elgin Recreation Center, 361 Texas 95 North, has been activated as an emergency shelter for residents displaced by Monday night’s storms, according to the Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management.
Two temporary shelters were established in Round Rock, at the Dell Diamond Heritage Center, 3400 E. Palm Valley Blvd., and at Redbud Elementary School, 1500 Ty Cobb Place.
Wind and downed trees tore through the roofs of dozens of Round Rock houses and a few businesses east of Interstate 35 and north of Texas 45.
“I thought I was going to die,” said Michael Talamantez, whose Round Rock house was destroyed on Stratford Drive after a tornado touched down.
No major injuries were reported in Williamson County, officials said.
“We will use every resource as a city to recover,” Mayor Craig Morgan said at a news conference Monday night.
First responders were working Monday to help everyone they could, Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks said.
“We want people to get back to their normal lives as soon as they possibly can,” Banks said. “We understand this is devastating to some folks. They have lost their houses, they have lose some of their structures. People aren’t going to be able to go to work because they lost some of their businesses.”
Williamson County saw two confirmed tornadoes Monday, County Judge Bill Gravell said. The first started at I-35 and Texas 45 in Round Rock and moved north of the Kalahari Resort before heading to Hutto and Granger.
“We don’t believe it was on the ground the entire time, but it did come down at different times,” Gravell said at a news conference Monday night in Georgetown with Gov. Greg Abbott.
The tornado struck a parking lot at Kalahari and damaged cars but didn’t damage any buildings, Gravell said. The second tornado started northwest of Jarrell and damaged or destroyed a few buildings.
“Tonight you will see from Round Rock all the way to the eastern part of the county we are turning off electricity, and the reason is quite simple,” he said. “We have downed power lines, and in order to protect our first responders it’s important we turn off the power.”
One of the tornadoes destroyed the home of a Williamson County employee while she was inside protecting her two nieces, Gravell said.
“From the story that was conveyed to me, she literally laid her body over her nieces to protect them, and they all went to the hospital and got checked out,” he said. “All of them are alive and well.”
Emergency personnel and sheriff’s deputies have combed through eastern Williamson County looking for damage and used a drone to help them survey it, Gravell said. A STAR Flight helicopter also surveyed the area.
The judge said he couldn’t estimate on Monday night how many structures were damaged across the county.
Abbott asked Williamson County residents to wait until Tuesday morning to inspect damage.
“Do not endanger yourself by trying to rush in and try to save something now,” he said. “When you have a tornado rip through a community you are going to have downed power lines, and those are going to be deadly dangerous.”
Anyone who had property damage can report it and apply for disaster assistance at https://damage.tdem.texas.gov. Abbott said he had already placed Williamson County under a disaster declaration before the tornado because of the fire danger across the state.
“The state is standing with the people of Williamson County shoulder to shoulder,” Abbott said. “We know you have faced a devastating storm with multiple tornadoes ripping through Williamson County alone. Many people’s lives were disrupted, and people have lost their homes.”
Abbott said he also was aware of the storm damage in Elgin and Bastrop County. The Texas Emergency Management Division and the Texas Department of Public Safety are working to identify people who need to be evacuated, he said.
Round Rock officials said Transportation Department crews are removing brush and limbs that have fallen into roads, and will only remove debris in city right-of-way. Limbs that are blocking roads or sidewalks can be reported by calling 512-688-0398. Any fallen trees on private property are the responsibility of the property owner.
More than 15,000 customers were without power in Williamson County shortly after 8 p.m. Monday, according to an Oncor energy map.
Round Rock resident Randy Overman huddled with his wife inside their house as a tornado moved through Whirlwind Trail.
“She could feel the difference in the air, but I couldn’t,” Overman said.
Just a few blocks away, Gail Wagner was watching the tornado form.
“It happened so fast,” Wager said. “The lights started going off, and I could see all the debris in the air, turning.”
When it passed, Overman and Wagner were relieved to see that their houses hadn’t sustained much damage but dismayed to see the storm had caused significant destruction to some of their neighbors’ homes.
“I went outside, and it looked like Tornado Alley,” Overman said.
Vegetation and structural debris had filled the street, and neighbors scrambled to cover their damaged roofs with tarps before more rain moved in.
“I don’t ever want to go through that again,” Wagner said. “I was shaking for 30 minutes after.”
A Kalahari employee said on the phone on Monday evening that the resort was assessing the damage and trying to make sure all its guests and employees were safe. He declined to say whether vehicles had been struck by the tornado.
Ebereson Iheanacho, who works at a Sonic Drive-In near Interstate 35 and Texas 45 in Round Rock, said he saw a tornado form over the Target store in front of the Sonic. “It looked like a blender and we heard strong winds,” he said. “I wasn’t scared. I had never seen one before in Texas. This is crazy.”
The tornado lingered over the Target for about 15 to 20 seconds then moved behind the drive-in restaurant and headed over a field, Iheanacho said.
“All you heard after was police sirens,” he said.
Several new homes under construction north of Limmer Loop in Hutto collapsed because of the storm, Mayor Mike Snyder said.
“You can see the roofs on the ground,” he said.
The city of Taylor confirmed a tornado touched down in the northeastern part of the city, with roof damage to buildings on Cotton Row Lane and downed power lines on County Road 368. Officials said debris is blocking the roads near Chandler Road and CR101. No injuries have been reported.
“At 6:03 p.m., a confirmed tornado was located over Round Rock, moving northeast at 30 mph,” the National Weather Service said in a bulletin.
But forecasters canceled the warning as the system moved northeast.
“The storm, which prompted the warning, has moved out of the area,” the weather service said. “There is a tornado warning for this storm still in effect over Bell County through 6:45 p.m.”
The most recent year multiple tornadoes hit the Austin area was in February 2017, when four were reported in Hays, Travis and Williamson counties. One tornado tracked from northwest of San Marcos to near Kyle in Hays County, and another touched down in the Niederwald and Mustang Ridge areas in Hays and Travis counties. Two more later struck the Thrall and Noack communities in eastern Williamson County.
That storm system produced another five tornadoes to the south in Bexar, Comal and Guadalupe counties.
A tornado watch remained in effect until 10 p.m. Monday for the Austin metro area and parts of the Hill Country.
The affected counties include: Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell, as well as Burnet, Blanco and Llano west of Austin.
Tornado warning for Austin
A tornado warning was in effect until 6:15 p.m. for south central Travis County and central Hays Country, the National Weather Service said.
“At 5:40 p.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Buda, moving northeast at 35 mph,” the weather service said in a bulletin Monday.
Hazards include the chance of a tornado and ping-pong-sized hail, forecasters said.
“Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter,” the weather service said. “Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely”
Residents in the affected area should take cover or move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building, forecasters said.
“Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to flash flooding,” the weather service said.
Tornado watch in effect for Austin area, Hill Country
A tornado watch is in effect until 10 p.m. Monday for the Austin metro area and parts of the Hill Country.
The affected counties include: Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell, as well as Burnet, Blanco and Llano west of Austin.
A watch indicates that residents in the affected area should be monitoring reports of an impending or possible weather event, forecasters said.
Chances for severe weather increase
The chances of severe storms along and east of the Interstate 35 corridor — particularly northeast of the Austin metro area — have been increased to a moderate risk, the second highest level of risk, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.
“Storms will be moving through the I-35 corridor during rush hour,” the weather service tweeted at 12:15 p.m. Monday. “Please stay weather aware and be prepared to take shelter if necessary!”
Weather service meteorologist Nick Hampshire said that is the first time the Austin metro area has a moderate risk of severe weather since May 10, 2015.
Forecasters say weather hazards include large hail, widespread damaging winds and the possibility of tornadoes, especially in parts of Central and East Texas into western Louisiana.
The weather service recommend that those in the affected area should monitor their weather reports or check other media for word of storm watches and warnings.
“A watch means that conditions are favorable for severe thunderstorms over the next several hours,” the weather service said in a statement. “If a severe thunderstorm warning is issued for your area, move to a place of safety, ideally in an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.”
Severe storms expected today
Austin’s weather forecast for Monday includes the threat of severe storms coming this afternoon or early evening.
“The storms should form along U.S. Highway 281 north of San Antonio between 1 and 4 p.m., then move east,” the National Weather Service said in a statement Monday morning. “Large hail greater than 2 inches in diameter and tornadoes are the primary threats, but damaging winds may also occur.”
Flash flooding is not expected, forecasters said.
“We have more safety concerns than normal since this is the first big severe event of the spring, it is Monday and the chaos most people have getting back to work/school, and the timing of the storms would bring them to the I-35 corridor, including metro Austin and San Antonio, during afternoon rush hour,” the weather service said.
More: Drought-parched Central Texas to get major rainfall, possibly severe storms, on Monday
The outlook for Austin calls for possible thunderstorms after 2 p.m. with temperatures climbing to 79 degrees. As south winds of 15 to 20 mph kick up with gusts as strong as 30 mph, the city could see new rainfall amounts of up to a half-inch during the day and up to another quarter-inch of rain at night.
Sunshine is set to return Tuesday, but Austin temperatures will be about 10 degrees cooler, with a high temperature of 70 degrees. Chilly northwest winds of 5 to 10 mph will increase to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon, the weather service said.
