Special weather statement issued for Comstock, storms could bring hail, wind

COMSTOCK, Texas - Storms moving through Val Verde County brought a late-night threat of hail, damaging wind and flash flooding, with the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio keeping a special weather statement in effect for Comstock until 1:30 a.m. CDT Friday.

The warning centered on a band of showers and thunderstorms spreading across south-central Texas Thursday night, with some storms capable of producing wind gusts strong enough to knock down limbs and power lines and hail around 1 inch in diameter. Temperatures were expected to fall into the mid 60s to lower 70s, but the cooling air did not remove the flood risk. In fact, the weather office said flooding remained a concern even as the storm line moved through.

The most favored area for new storm development included the southern Edwards Plateau, the Rio Grande and parts of the Hill Country, putting Comstock and surrounding stretches of western Val Verde County in the zone most likely to see heavier cells. The forecast discussion pointed to a stalled frontal boundary and earlier outflow boundaries as the triggers helping spark more thunderstorms. Initial storms were already moving through Llano, Kimble and Mason counties, a sign that the atmosphere was still primed for additional development farther south and west.

For residents in and around Comstock, the immediate concern was the period before daybreak, when storms could turn quickly and visibility on rural roads could drop fast. Drivers on remote ranch roads and low-water crossings needed to be alert for sudden gusts, heavy rain and hail, especially where runoff can fill washes and arroyos in minutes. Ranchers also faced the risk of brief but intense wind bursts that can scatter lightweight equipment and stress livestock. Remote households with spotty cell service had the most to lose if power flickered or roads became temporarily impassable overnight.

The timing window mattered. NWS said storms were most likely in the Rio Grande Plains from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, with the risk shifting eastward later in the night. The same forecast package placed the I-35 Corridor and Coastal Plains at higher risk from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, while a separate Flood Watch covered portions of the Hill Country, I-35 Corridor and Coastal Plains from Friday evening through Monday evening. That watch called for 2 to 4 inches of rain, with isolated 6-inch totals possible.

Texas Flood Awareness Week, which ran May 18-22, added urgency to the alert. The weather office also pointed to the historic October 17-18, 1998 flood event in South-Central Texas, when more than 30 inches of rain was estimated over a small area south of San Marcos in 36 hours, a reminder of how quickly repeated rounds of rain can overwhelm creeks, roads and drainage corridors across the region.