The following events were reported: Flash Flood, Flood, Thunderstorm Wind, Tornado. These occurred near station USW00013904, approximately 29.0453 km away, between 2007-01-13 07:00:00 and 2007-01-13 21:00:00. The flood was caused by Heavy Rain. Thankfully, no injuries or fatalities were reported. The events caused property damage valued at 150000.0 and crop damage of 0.0. Episode Narrative: Thunderstorms formed in advance of a cold front over much of South Central Texas early on the morning of January 13. The storms produce spotty heavy rainfall as they tracked slowly northward along IH-35. One of the thunderstorms developed into a supercell and produced a brief tornado near San Marcos. Additional strong storms later formed along the front and produced additional spotty heavy rain along the IH-35 corridor as the front moved southward, with some areas experiencing flash flooding. Thunderstorms formed in advance of a cold front over much of South Central Texas early on the morning of January 13. Event Narrative: Shoal Creek near Lamar Street crested at 14.76  feet at 0915cst on January 13, where 10 feet is flood stage. Onion Creek in Austin at SH183 crested at 22.97 feet at 1245cst on January 13, where 17 feet is flood stage. Thunderstorms accompanying the cold front moved particularly slowly across Williamson County, with general rain totals of 1 to 2 inches and highest amounts of 4 to 5 inches between Taylor and Bartlett. SH29, FM971,  FM972, and FM1331 were closed due to high water. A severe thunderstorm struck just south of the San Marcos Police Headquarters Building near 7:00 am and produced winds estimated at 70 to 80 mph northward along IH-35. At the beginning of the damage path, tin metal roofs were torn off several buildings and tossed several hundred feet. Damage was noted to roofs and eaves as well as walls of some buildings. Typically, all the damage was blown toward the north. These severe winds continued from the initial damage location for approximately one mile to a residential area. All along this path the team saw sections of tin ripped from roofs, with pieces tossed several hundred feet. At one location a large wooden deck was torn from a one-story building. Again, all the debris in this mile-long path was blown in the same direction - toward the north. Wilbarger Creek in Elgin crested at 34.10 feet at 2100cst on January 13, where 27 feet is flood stage. Much more severe damage was seen near the center of this path at Police Headquarters. Just south of the building, metal roofs had been torn off a structure and tossed toward the north. In the south parking lot adjacent to the building, three telephone poles were blown down...one toward the west���one toward the north���and one toward the south. An officer was in his vehicle at 7:08 am CST as the storm struck���parked next to a large metal building which partly protected it. The officer reported that very high winds and heavy rain began blowing from north to south���then abruptly changed direction and began blowing from south to north���accompanied by penny-sized hail. His car���in spite of being somewhat sheltered���was badly damaged by the blowing debris. In all���thirty-five vehicles at the Police Building sustained damage���with numerous dents and large gashes in car bodies���as well as windows and windshields fractured. A large area of brick was ejected from an upper portion of the Building���s north wall. The conclusion of the survey team was that this damage at the Police Headquarters was due to a small and short-lived tornado that occurred just behind the 70 to 80 mph thunderstorm winds. Damage was also found about 200 yards north of the Police Building at a business that manufactures lighting fixtures. This was thought to be a second touchdown of the small tornado. Here a large dumpster was spun almost 360 degrees and several trailers were slammed into each other. A single-wide trailer was tipped over on its side. Windows and doors at the building were broken, with some blown inward and some blown outward. Based on the type and level of damage, the tornado was rated an F1 on the Fujita Scale, and an EF1 on the new Enhanced Fujita Scale. The tornado path was estimated to be 100 yards wide and a three-tenths of a mile long. Rainfall south of a line from Wimberley to Buda averaged between 2 and 3 inches, with between 5 and 7 inches in the San Marcos area. Widespread flash flooding closed FM12, FM150 and FM621,among many other rural roads and city streets through the morning period. This flood was a large factor in making recovery efforts from the wind and tornado damage even more difficult. Thunderstorms dropped between 1 and 2 inches over eastern Travis County with up to 4 inches at Manor. Flash flooding was reported by Austin/Travis Office of Emergency Management east of IH-35, closing FM973 and FM969. Nearly one dozen high water rescues were reported along Caesar Chavez, Guadalupe Street, Steck and MoPac, just south of Ben White. A woman was reported to have been swept into Waller Creek. Although rescue and recovery personnel searched the area for several hours, they were unable to find her. Her body was finally recovered at Longhorn Dam on March 23. |