They mentioned severe storms for today. I know earlier they mentioned possible tornadoes, unusual for this area.
Well, we have had confirmed at least 4 tornadoes as this time (7pm). Taylor, Hutto, Round Rock, Elgin, even an area called Kalahari Resort have all been hit. One tornado crossed a freeway flyover, near I-35 and I-45. At this point there are areas with some damage, how much I don’t know. Some areas are without power. At one point they even said possible tornado in Wimberley, close by where I live.
It is a very unusual situation here. First of all, we don’t get many tornadoes show up in this area. But having a number of tornadoes all happening at the same time comes under the the extremely unusual situation description. From what I can tell, most of the tornadoes have not been in highly populated area, downtown Austin didn’t get hit, but outer areas of Austin are getting hit.
According to the news channel I’ve been watching, at least one doppler unit got hit, either by tornado or lightning. I’m sure more information will be coming in.
I’m sure damage reports will be coming in later today. As of right now, they have said there is damage, but they have not mentioned how much damage.
I even feel for the weather people on tv. They have been broadcasting nonstop for well over an hour.
UPDATE: 03/24/2022
How many confirmed separate tornadoes did the Austin area get? Actually I don’t have an answer for that. I wish I did. But the NWS (National Weather Service) is in the process of confirming various information about the different tornadoes that we had. What I can glean from the news includes:
Round Rock area had a confirmed tornado. It crossed over a freeway intersection (I-35 and 4), taking out a light standard, caused damage to a bank, and a resort in the area. At this time I am not sure if they have confirmed strength.
Wimberley is said to have a confirmed tornado.
Areas near Tayor and Manor had confirmed tornadoes. Areas near Elgin also had confirmed tornado activity.
At this time I’m not sure if some of these may have been one tornado that merely moved, or what. But I’m sure more information will be released in time. Suffice it to say, the greater Austin area saw its share of tornadoes this past week.