The storm that moved through the area on July 4 drenched parts of Hays County with rain. Meteorologists said the large amount of lightning over Central Texas on Wednesday is typical of summertime storms. According to the National Weather Service, the peak wind gust at the San Marcos Airport on Wednesday was 41 miles per hour. One local rain gauge showed 2.5 inches. Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo
And the rain came Fourth
The storm system that moved through Central Texas on Independence Day left inches of rain, numerous downed limbs, canceled plans and power outages in its wake.
Nick Hampshire, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio office, said that Kyle received 2.65 inches of rain, while the San Marcos Airport saw 0.87 inches of rain and a wind gust of 41 miles per hour on Wednesday. According to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) Network, about 1.73 inches fell in San Marcos, and Hampshire said that just west of town rainfall of a little over 2 inches was measured.
The storm emerged from a tropical low that moved into the area, Hampshire said. Though there were no reports of hail with this storm, there was a lot of lightning.
“That’s pretty typical for summertime storms like that,” he said. “They can be pretty electrical.”
The storm downed some tree limbs, including this one on Gravel Street. Daily Record photo by Robin Blackburn
The city of San Marcos canceled its Summerfest celebration but still held its fireworks show Wednesday night.
The rain that fell Wednesday was not enough for county officials to lift the burn ban that has been in effect for about a month.
“The little bit of rain we got did not drop us below critical,” Hays County Fire Marshal Clint Browning said.
Earlier this week, the county’s Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) — a range from 0 to 800 that measures how favorable conditions are for fires — was just over 600. Browning said Wednesday’s rains brought it down, but only to 548. Moreover, the rain was not countywide, Browning said.
The good news, he said, is that there were no reports of fires due to lightning strikes or fireworks on July 4. Moreover, there is more rain in the forecast.
