Alerts were sounding in the early hours of Thursday morning, warning citizens to take cover and avoid traveling. At 1:06 a.m. on June 12, a Tornado Warning was issued that would be active until 1:30 a.m. At 1:28 a.m., a Flash Flood Warning was issued to be in effect until 5 a.m. And both proved to be more than a warning.
“The survey team found damage that supported the existence of two separate short-lived EF0 tornadoes,” according to a statement issued by the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio. “Radar imagery showed a defined rotation associated with the first area of damage. This circulation quickly dissipated with another circulation developing further to the southeast where the second tornado formed.”
The tornado ratings are as follows: EF0 — 65 to 85 miles per hour, EF1 — 86 to 110 mph, EF2 — 111 to 135 mph, EF3 — 136 to 165 mph, EF4 — 166 to 200 mph and EF5 — greater than 200 mph.
The first tornado was determined by the NWS to have “formed just east of Purgatory Road, south of Farm to Market Road 32. The most significant damage was seen along Cielo Ranch Road, with tree damage and minor damage to structures.”
The second tornado was estimated by the NWS “through a combination of information gathered by the survey team and through radar. While much of the damage fell to the north of northeast, indications are that the tornado moved just north of the intersection of Teton Circle and Appalachian Road, with the most significant damage occurring in this area.”
Within San Marcos, Mack Morris, National Weather Service San Antonio/Austin meteorologist, said the rainfall was between one and three inches. The highest rainfall occurred in Western Hays County, which was between three and four inches.
“There was an area of low pressure in the upper level of the atmosphere over southeastern Oklahoma,” Morris said. “There was a lot of moisture at the surface and very slow moving storm motions, so that led to very heavy rainfall rates.”
