Severe thunderstorms slam Austin area, watch extended through Monday morning

Austin-area residents spent Sunday night under the threat of damaging straight-line winds, quarter-size hail and outages as a cold front pushed into Central Texas and triggered a round of severe thunderstorms.

The National Weather Service office in Austin and San Antonio said showers and thunderstorms were likely Sunday night across South-Central Texas, with some storms becoming strong to severe as the front moved through. The most credible hazard was damaging wind, and the severe thunderstorm watch for much of South Central Texas was later extended through 2 a.m. Monday as the storm line evolved.

KXAN Austin said wind gusts could reach 60 to 75 mph, with hail up to quarter size. KSAT said the highest risk was in the Hill Country and the Austin metro area, where power outages and snapped trees were possible. KVUE rated the severe-weather threat at level 2 out of 5 for most of Central Texas, with damaging wind and large hail as the main concerns.

The weather pattern had already shown signs of volatility before the main line arrived. A funnel cloud was reported in southeastern Williamson County on Saturday afternoon, adding to concerns that the atmosphere over Central Texas was primed for a more widespread round of storms once the front reached the region.

State leaders moved to bolster local response before the worst of the weather hit. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate state emergency resources, including Texas A&M Task Force 1, Task Force 2 and Task Force 3, the Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department rescue teams and helicopters, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force. The governor’s office urged Texans to make a plan, assemble an emergency supply kit, review family emergency plans and follow directions from local officials.

By late Sunday night, the storms had already begun taking a toll on the power grid. More than 14,000 Austin Energy customers were without power at 11:06 p.m., affecting roughly 35,000 residents, and more outages were possible as the line of storms kept moving across Travis, Williamson and Hays counties.

The storm threat was part of a broader severe-weather setup across Texas, with similar hail and wind risks also reported farther north. For Austin and nearby communities, the key test was how quickly warnings, utility crews and emergency managers could keep pace with a fast-moving line of storms that arrived with little margin for error.