Friday, May 20, 2011

Strong to Severe T-Storms Moving Into Austin Metro Area...

***Update, 9:52 PM CDT:

The strong to severe thunderstorms over central Hays County have become nearly stationary during the last half hour.  Hail is still indicated on the southwest side of the activity, to the East of Wimberley (again).  My house is located near the tip of the white arrow, to the North/Northeast of Kyle (near the right-center part of the screen).

We continue to experience the cruel trick of just light rain falling but with vivid lightning and clearly heavier shafts of rain to the immediate West, refusing to move our way.  (In case you're wondering - we really could use the rain - even if hail came along with it).

The greatest threat of hail will be to the East of Wimberley, and Northwest of San Marcos over the next half hour as this storm either slowly drifts Eastward, or starts to dissipate.


***Update, 9:00 PM CDT:

Northern portions of the line in southern Travis county have weakened in the past 15-20 minutes, with hail no longer indicated.  The southern portion of the line, meanwhile, has intensified across central Hays County, to the North of Woodcreek and Wimberley.


Quarter size or slightly larger hail is indicated by radar in the grey/white shaded areas on the image below:


This activity continues to move East/Northeast at 15-20 mph...and will continue advancing toward the I-35 corridor from Buda through Kyle during the 9 o'clock hour.

***Update, 8:40 PM CDT:

Latest radar with severe thunderstorm warning (red box) overlay:


Hail (up to the size of a quarter) is most likely occurring in the white/grey and orange/red and lavender shaded areas on the image below:


This activity is moving East at 15-20 mph.  It will overspread the I-35 corridor in Hays County, from near Kyle through Buda, over the next hour.  Northern portions of the area will be impacted first, in 30-45 minutes or so, with the Southern area being impacted last (45-75 minutes).

In Austin, I-35 North of downtown is about in the clear of the worst of the activity.  South of downtown (particularly South of Ben White Blvd.), heavy rain and scattered hail will continue for the next half hour to 45 minutes.

I'm going to step out on the back porch and enjoy this activity coming in.  I'll make another post in about 30 minutes, or earlier if anything changes significantly...

***Update, 8:31 PM CDT:

Gusty winds of 30-40 mph will occur out ahead of the thunderstorms along the I-35 corridor in Hays County for the next 10-15 minutes (this is called a gust front).  The gust front has already passed through the Travis county portion of I-35.  The gust front is indicated by the thin blue line on the radar image below (and with the white arrows pointing to it):


Heavy rain and hail up to quarter size will follow.  The Hays County portion of the line is moving East at 15-20 mph, while the Travis County portion is moving East/Northeast at 25 mph.


***Update, 8:15 PM CDT:


The above image shows where hail is most likely falling in Hays & Travis counties.  The grey/white areas show hail up to 1 inch diameter (roughly quarter size).  The orangish-red areas show where hail of about marble size (one half to three quarters of an inch) is likely.  This is an estimate by the radar, but as you can see, the green bubbles with the 3 dots in them are confirmed hail reports (1 inch diameter) within the last 10-15 minutes, which the radar nailed in that area.

This activity is moving East to East/Northeast at 25-30 mph...toward the I-35 corridor from Buda through Austin.

Further development to the southwest in Hays County also continues:


***Update, 8:10 PM CDT:

Latest radar image (below) shows thunderstorms in Hays county have also become severe.  Quarter size hail reported near Dripping Springs in the last 5 minutes.  Movement is East/Northeast at 25-30 mph.  Severe Thunderstorm Warnings are in effect for the areas within the red polygons.  The line continues to build toward the Southwest.  Residents across southern Hays county should also remain alert....


-------------------------Original post:


The above image was just taken from the New Braunfels radar.  A line of strong to severe thunderstorms is moving East/Northeast at 25-30 mph into the Austin area.  Hail up to quarter size is possible, along with very  heavy rain and strong, gusty winds.

The greatest chance of hail is near the green triangles on the image below:


This line continues to build back to the Southwest into Hays county, and residents along the I-35 corridor in Hays county should also be prepared for possible severe weather during the next hour.



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