Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 23 to 24, 2015

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing RM 337 from mile marker 408 to mile marker 421 between Leakey and Camp Wood.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing Maverick Crossing south of Camp Wood.

A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 60 mph. No damage was reported.

A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that blew down trees at Hwy 21 and Cardinal Dr.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding. The city of Boerne evacuated a senior care facility that was surrounded by flood water. There was a high water rescue near Guadalupe River State Park and many roads were closed in the county including RM 1376, RM 473 and FM 1621 from Comfort to Sisterdale.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing RM 1050 west of Utopia.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing low water crossings on SH 127 between Sabinal and Concan.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing Orsinger St. at Vance Jackson Rd. in San Antonio.

A tuber drown due to strong undertow along the swollen Frio River.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing multiple roads in and around Camp Wood and RM 337.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing FM 1623 along the Blanco River. A 42 year old man died in his vehicle along the Blanco River near downtown Blanco. Flooding along the Blanco River in the town of Blanco was substantial. Water came up to the bottom of the Highway 281 bridge in Blanco. Water overtopped the Loop 163 bridge east of Blanco. The Blanco River overtopped County Road 165 and destroyed that bridge. Portions of the Blanco State Park were heavily damaged with cabins flooded. There were a total of 22 homes either destroyed or heavily damaged. Monetary losses were unavailable at the time of this writing but estimated to be more than several million dollars with losses to homes/structures and road infrastructure.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding of the Little Blanco River. An 81 year old man was swept away near FM 473 at FM 32 and died. His body was found on May 28th near the Blanco/Hays County line. He escaped his car but was not able to survive the flood waters.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing SH 127 from the City Park in Sabinal to the SH 127-187 fork north of town.

A NWS storm survey team concluded a tornado touched down near the intersection of Maria Elena Ave. and NW 38th St. The tornado traveled a couple of blocks before lifting near NW 36th St. Damage was primarily to trees, but one house on Woley Dr. did suffer major roof damage and several nearby houses suffered minor damage mainly to roofs and vehicles parked nearby. Another home on Woley Dr. was reported to have had a carport roof removed and displaced two blocks to the north onto the same street near Culebra Rd. Peak winds were estimated at 100 mph.

A thunderstorm produced wind gusts of 52 kts. No damage was reported.

A NWS storm survey team found a tornado initially touched down near the intersection of Ranch Road 12 and KC Memory Ln. The tornado traveled to the northeast and crossed FM 150 at Wood Springs. The tornado then crossed E Creek Dr. and lifted before crossing Hwy 290. The damage was primarily to trees, but about 15 homes suffered minor damage. Peak winds were estimated at 85 mph.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing multiple low water crossings in Johnson City.

A NWS storm survey team confirmed an EF-1 tornado touched down on the Sunset Ranch in NW Travis County. The tornado produced tree damage across the ranch. It also hit a residence destroying the front and back porches and damaging the roof. The tornado appears to have dissipated shortly after hitting the residence. Peak winds were estimated at 105 mph.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing O'Connor Rd. at Old O'Connor Rd.

A NWS storm survey found evidence that an EF-0 tornado went through the Shady Hollow area off Brodie Ln. in south Austin. Numerous streets had significant tree damage along with some minor roof damage to some homes. The tornado moved NE and appears to have dissipated near W Slaughter Ln. Wind damage was reported farther NE into the city of Austin, but this damage could not conclusively be associated with this tornado path. Peak winds were estimated at 85 mph.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing RM 187.

A NWS storm survey team found an EF-1 tornado initially touched down near County Road 201 just west of County Road 200. The tornado traveled to the north-northeast through the Indian Oaks and Carriage Oaks subdivisions before crossing County Road 200 and lifting near East Bear Creek Rd. Damage was primarily to large oak trees, but about 7 to 10 homes suffered damage mainly to roofs. The most substantial damage was a complete loss of a chimney. Also, a barn lost part of its roof. Peak winds were estimated at 100 mph.

A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that damaged a building and pushed some vans across a parking lot.

A thunderstorms produced wind gusts estimated at 60 mph that damaged the weather observer office at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

A thunderstorm produced wind gusts measured at 65 kts by the ASOS at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Fairly widespread wind damage was seen east of the airport along Toll Road 130.

A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph uprooted some large Oak trees and damaged a mobile home and the roofs of several houses.

A NWS storm survey found evidence of a weak EF-0 tornado that initially touched down near FM 1431 and produced damage at a school. The tornado traveled northeast and caused considerable tree damage in the Indian Hills subdivision before dissipating right near the Williamson County line. Other wind damage was observed near New Hope Dr., but could not conclusively be associated with this tornado path. Peak winds were estimated at 85 mph.

A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that snapped and uprooted multiple trees. Some of the trees had trunks as large as 12 inches in diameter.

A NWS survey team concluded a tornado touched down on the west side of I-35 in Austin near Brownie Dr. and Diamondback Trl. The tornado peeled back a sheet metal roof to a business on the west side of the interstate and demolished a stone brick sign. The tornado also caused damage to roofing shingles, snapped large tree limbs and tossed a garbage dumpster at an apartment complex near Hardin Ct. The tornado moved east-northeast, crossing I-35, where it caused significant damage to the second floor of a storage facility. The metal roof and walls were collapsed in on the southwest side of the storage facility. Ten small moving trailers were lifted and tossed in various directions, with two tossed back across to the west side of I-35. Several power poles were blown over along the access roads of the interstate. The tornado continued east-northeast through the Windsor Hills subdivision, snapping numerous large tree limbs throughout the subdivision. Peak winds were estimated at 90-95 mph near the businesses along I-35.

Lightning struck a utility pole near the intersection of Lamar Blvd. and Breaker Ln. in Austin and power outages were reported.

A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that blew down power lines in the 10200 block of the N I-35 service road.

A NWS storm survey found that an EF-1 tornado initially touched down around Frio Ct, in the River Crossing subdivision producing tree and roof damage at a residence. The tornado moved ENE and crossed several streets in the subdivision. Several trees were uprooted and large oak trees suffered substantial damage. Peak winds were estimated at 95 mph.

A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that partially collapsed the roof of an apartment building near Tech Ridge Blvd. and I-35.

A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that blew down power lines on Rutherford Ln. near Furness Dr. in Austin.

A NWS storm survey team concluded a tornado touched down in the Gabriel's Overlook subdivision in Williamson County, roughly four miles northeast of Leander. The tornado snapped large tree limbs through its path length. The tornado also caused damage to two homes, with roof decking on the corner of one home removed, and over half the roof decking on the second home completely removed. Two large storage sheds were are also picked up and moved 20 yards. Peak winds were estimated at 95-100 mph, where the most significant damage occurred to the second house.

A NWS storm survey concluded that a weak and brief EF-0 tornado touched down near the end of Brizendine Rd. in far NW Williamson County. Minor roof damage was observed along with tree damage. Peak winds were estimated at 85 mph.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding. A number of homes were evacuated due to flooding in Liberty Hill near FM 1869 and CR 279. Numerous roads were closed including CR 282, CR 279, and Hwy 29 at US 183.

A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 60 mph that caused some roof damage.

A thunderstorm produced wind gusts estimated at 70 mph that blew down some trees on Old Manor Rd.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding requiring water rescues in the Bulverde and Spring Branch areas.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding. There was severe flooding in Wimberley where people were stranded on rooftops.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding closing several roads in Devine.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding. Rainfall totals of 10 to 13 inches were reported upstream in southern Blanco County and all of this water entered the Blanco River and Little Blanco River. The Fischer Store Rd. bridge over the Blanco River was destroyed by flood waters west of Wimberley. The Blanco River, down stream from the bridge, at Wimberley reached a record crest. The gauge failed at 40 feet and the USGS later estimated the crest at 44.9 feet with 175,000 cfs. This height was more than 10 feet over the previous record height of 33.3 feet from 1929. Homes along the banks of the Blanco River from the City of Blanco, through Wimberley, and down to San Marcos experienced an historic flood. Many homes were totally destroyed and swept down stream. Many homes were struck by large debris, including full size cypress trees which typically lined the banks of the river. A house in the 100 block of Deer Crossing Ln. in Wimberley was washed away in the flood with nine people inside. There was one lone survivor while eight others died. Six bodies were recovered and the two small children remain missing. Several of the bodies were recovered near San Marcos Texas nearly 30 miles downstream. Another fatality occurred when a man was washed away with his vehicle. He was 29 years old and was found on May 26 near FM 2325. A 74 year old male also drown after he was swept off his roof of his house along River Road near Wimberley. The river experienced rises that exceeded 20 feet in one hour. Estimates of insured losses are around 100 million dollars. Overall in Hays County including Wimberley and San Marcos, 321 homes were destroyed, with hundreds more heavily damaged.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding with over a foot of water covering the road at Second Crossing on FM 1120.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding with over a foot of water covering the road at Second Crossing on FM 1120.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding requiring three water rescues in Uvalde and closing numerous roads.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding with water rescues in D'Hanis and Yancy. There were also a number of roads closed. An 18 year old girl died when her vehicle was swept away on FM 2200 near Devine. She was returning from her prom and was within two miles of her home.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding in Kyle and San Marcos. The majority of the flooding was along the Blanco and San Marcos Rivers. A massive floodwave came down the Blanco River from Wimberley. Huge amounts of debris came with the flood waters. Four people were trapped on a roof awaiting a helicopter rescue in Kyle. I-35 was closed in both directions in San Marcos when the Blanco River flooded and overtopped the interstate. Hwy 80 bridge was also overtopped with flood water just east of I-35. Highway 80 was closed with debris bumping into a bridge structure. Water flooded the Aspen Apartment complex and water was reported to be up to the top of car tires in the parking lot. The Hays County jail in San Marcos was evacuated due to flooding. Many homes along River Road were flooded as well as businesses along the I-35 frontage road as the San Marcos river started to backup into town. All along the Blanco River in Hays County 1515 structures were impacted with 321 houses destroyed and an additional 376 receiving Major damage according to assessments. It is estimated that there were 100 million dollars in insured losses for this flash flood.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding requiring water rescues near the Gary Job Corps Center.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding. There were multiple water rescues across the county with numerous roads closed. Across the county 1400 structures were impacted by flooding with 50 homes destroyed. It is estimated that the flooding this night caused 100 million dollars in insured losses from Blanco down through Martindale. Uninsured losses will likely top 7 million in Caldwell County alone.