City workers dispose of a large tree limb that had fallen across South Mitchell Street during Sunday's storms. Winds downed many trees and limbs throughout the city, leading to power outages. Daily Record Photo by Robin Blackburn
Strong storms blow through area
Severe storms triggered by a cold front blew through the area Sunday night, bringing harsh winds that downed trees and caused power outages around the city.
Bob Fogarty with the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office said a cold front moving into the warm, humid and unstable air mass sitting over Central Texas caused what he called very strong storms.
“We might call it a squall line,” he said.
The National Weather Service equipment at the San Marcos Regional Airport stopped recording weather data from 5 p.m. to about 8:30 p.m. Sunday night, when the storms blew in, but meteorologists used reports of storm damage to help determine wind speeds in the area. Fogarty said he had no specific wind speeds for San Marcos but a peak of 70 to 80 miles per hour is the preliminary estimate based on damage reports from around the area.
Fogarty also said the winds in San Marcos appeared to be straight-line winds rather than anything tornadic.
There was some heavy rain with the storms that came through, but Fogarty said the system was moving so quickly that no one spot got much rain. There were reports of 0.25 to 0.75 inches in and around the San Marcos area, with just over 1 inch reported in Fentress.
“It rained heavy, but it didn’t rain for a long time,” Fogarty said.
The winds weren’t the only factor contributing to power outages around the city, though Tyler Hjorth, assistant director of the San Marcos Electric Utility, said they were the main factor.
“With the onset of the storm, the electrical distribution took several direct lightning strokes, which caused brief, but widespread, outages,” Hjorth said. “The system responded well and restored power to the extent possible, although some areas remained out because of equipment that was damaged. But the main problem, as the storm rolled through, was the number of trees and tree limbs that came into contact with overhead lines. This was seen citywide, with over 100 sections of overhead lines impacted.”
Hjorth said city lineworker and tree trimming crews worked throughout the night, and as of 11 a.m. Monday were still working to clear lines.
