jeffl
03-28-2005, 06:47 PM
Large hail and a tornado started it off Firday night, then several hail reports late Saturday night and early Sunday morning along the coast, followed by 1-2 inches of snow Sunday morning over Fort Worth and areas to the SW.
The large supercell Friday night that developed well WNW of Austin produced very large hail and much damage across the Austin area Friday evening before dying out near Brenham. Numerous car windows were broken across the N side of Austin due to golf ball and base ball size hail. See below for lone tornado report via NWS survey.
Many locations across Parker, Johnson, and W Tarrant counties recorded their first white Easter as 1-2 inches of snow fell around sunrise. Very cold mid level temps under an upper low was responsible for the event. Surface temps. were well above freezing so much of the snow melted within about an hour. DFW did not report snow, so Dallas has yet to get snow on Easter Sunday, much like Houston this past Christmas.
NWS Storm Survey:
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
530 PM CST MON MAR 28 2005
...STORM SURVERY OF THE MANOR TO ELGIN AREA...
THIS AFTERNOON...STAFF FROM THE NWS AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO OFFICE...
ASSISTED BY JEFF DRAPER OF TEXAS SEVERE STORMS INTERCEPT...
CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF DAMAGE THAT OCCURRED FRIDAY NIGHT BETWEEN
MANOR AND ELGIN...MAINLY IN THE COMMUNITY OF LIGGIT.
MOST OF THE SURVEY WORK HAD ALREADY BEEN COMPLETED ON SATURDAY
AND SUNDAY BY JEFF DRAPER...AUSTIN METEOROLOGIST TROY KIMMEL
AND KEN NEAFCY OF THE AUSTIN OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
THEIR FINDINGS WERE CONFIRMED THAT THE GENERAL AREA FROM
APPROXIMATELY 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MANOR...ACROSS THE COMMUNITY
OF LITTIG...TO 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ELGIN HAD BEEN STRUCK BY A
COMBINATION OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WINDS...RAIN AND HAIL.
IN ADDITION...A NARROW CORRIDOR OF SPOTTY AND MORE INTENSE DAMAGE
TO HOMES...TREES AND BUILDINGS SUGGESTED THAT A TORNADO HAD STRUCK
NEAR 9:50 PM ON BALDERSTADT ROAD ABOUT 1 MILE NORTHWEST OF LITTIG.
THE CONCLUSION WAS SUPPORTED BY THE FACT THAT DEBRIS IN A SMALL
CONFINED AREA OF HOMES AS WELL AS MOBILE HOMES AND OUTBUILDINGS WAS
SCATTERED IN ALL FOUR CARDINAL DIRECTIONS...INDICATING IT COULD NOT
HAVE BEEN PART OF A DOWNBURST. THE PATH LENGTH IN THIS TOUCHDOWN
WOULD HAVE BEEN LESS THAN A QUARTER MILE. THE DAMAGE WAS RATED F0.
FROM THAT POINT EASTWARD...THROUGH THE COMMUNITY OF LITTIG TO NEAR
ELGIN...THE DAMAGE WAS GENERAL WIDESPREAD AND HAD BEEN LAID DOWN IN
A SINGLE DIRECTION TOWARD THE EAST. THIS WAS THE SAME DIRECTION IN
WHICH THE SUPERCELL STORM WAS MOVING.
HOWEVER...DAMAGE IN THE EAST PART OF LIGGIT WAS AGAIN CONCENTRATED
WITH THE DEBRIS LAID DOWN IN MANY DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. MANY OF
THE LITTIG RESIDENTS REPORTED THAT THE HIGH WINDS STRUCK AND THEN
WAS FOLLOWED BY THE "SOUND OF A FREIGHT TRAIN." ONE RESIDENT
REPORTED THAT HIS EARS POPPED JUST IN ADVANCE OF THE WORST DAMAGE.
THESE REPORTS...ALONG WITH THE SHAPE AND NATURE OF DAMAGE INDICATED
THAT PART OF THE DAMAGE IN THE EAST SECTION OF LITTIG WAS DUE TO A
SECOND TOUCHDOWN OF THE SAME TORNADO. THIS LOCATION WOULD BE ABOUT
1 MILE EAST OF THE FIRST TOUCHDOWN. THE TIME OF THE STRIKE IS
ESTIMATED AS 9:52 PM. THE TORNADO CONTINUED ON THE GROUND FOR
APPROXIMATELY ONE HALF MILE WHERE IT STRUCK A MOBILE HOME ALONG ITS
SIDE AND ROLLED IT INTO A SECOND MOBILE HOME. THE FIRST MOBILE HOME
WAS DESTROYED...ITS REMNANTS APPEAR TO HAVE PREVENTED MAJOR DAMAGE
TO THE SECOND MOBILE HOME. THIS DAMAGE WAS RATIED AS F1.
A THIRD TOUCHDOWN WAS INDICATED JUST EAST OF LITTIG WHERE THE OLD
SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH AND THE NEW SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH SUSTAINED
DAMAGE. THE LOCATION IS JUST EAST OF COUNTY LINE ROAD AND JUST
SOUTH OF VOELKER LANE. THIS TOUCHDOWN WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY BRIEF...
LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE IN LENGTH. IT WAS TIMED NEAR 9:54 PM
AND WAS RATED AS F0.
IN ALL...IT WAS MIRACULOUS THAT SO MANY LARGE PIECES OF TIN...WOOD
AND METAL HAD BEEN RIPPED FROM HOMES AND STRUCTURES AND THROWN
AROUND THE AREA...DRIVEN INTO THE GROUND...WRAPPED AROUND TREES AND
POLES...AND YET NOT A SINGLE INJURY.
The large supercell Friday night that developed well WNW of Austin produced very large hail and much damage across the Austin area Friday evening before dying out near Brenham. Numerous car windows were broken across the N side of Austin due to golf ball and base ball size hail. See below for lone tornado report via NWS survey.
Many locations across Parker, Johnson, and W Tarrant counties recorded their first white Easter as 1-2 inches of snow fell around sunrise. Very cold mid level temps under an upper low was responsible for the event. Surface temps. were well above freezing so much of the snow melted within about an hour. DFW did not report snow, so Dallas has yet to get snow on Easter Sunday, much like Houston this past Christmas.
NWS Storm Survey:
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
530 PM CST MON MAR 28 2005
...STORM SURVERY OF THE MANOR TO ELGIN AREA...
THIS AFTERNOON...STAFF FROM THE NWS AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO OFFICE...
ASSISTED BY JEFF DRAPER OF TEXAS SEVERE STORMS INTERCEPT...
CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF DAMAGE THAT OCCURRED FRIDAY NIGHT BETWEEN
MANOR AND ELGIN...MAINLY IN THE COMMUNITY OF LIGGIT.
MOST OF THE SURVEY WORK HAD ALREADY BEEN COMPLETED ON SATURDAY
AND SUNDAY BY JEFF DRAPER...AUSTIN METEOROLOGIST TROY KIMMEL
AND KEN NEAFCY OF THE AUSTIN OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
THEIR FINDINGS WERE CONFIRMED THAT THE GENERAL AREA FROM
APPROXIMATELY 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MANOR...ACROSS THE COMMUNITY
OF LITTIG...TO 2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ELGIN HAD BEEN STRUCK BY A
COMBINATION OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WINDS...RAIN AND HAIL.
IN ADDITION...A NARROW CORRIDOR OF SPOTTY AND MORE INTENSE DAMAGE
TO HOMES...TREES AND BUILDINGS SUGGESTED THAT A TORNADO HAD STRUCK
NEAR 9:50 PM ON BALDERSTADT ROAD ABOUT 1 MILE NORTHWEST OF LITTIG.
THE CONCLUSION WAS SUPPORTED BY THE FACT THAT DEBRIS IN A SMALL
CONFINED AREA OF HOMES AS WELL AS MOBILE HOMES AND OUTBUILDINGS WAS
SCATTERED IN ALL FOUR CARDINAL DIRECTIONS...INDICATING IT COULD NOT
HAVE BEEN PART OF A DOWNBURST. THE PATH LENGTH IN THIS TOUCHDOWN
WOULD HAVE BEEN LESS THAN A QUARTER MILE. THE DAMAGE WAS RATED F0.
FROM THAT POINT EASTWARD...THROUGH THE COMMUNITY OF LITTIG TO NEAR
ELGIN...THE DAMAGE WAS GENERAL WIDESPREAD AND HAD BEEN LAID DOWN IN
A SINGLE DIRECTION TOWARD THE EAST. THIS WAS THE SAME DIRECTION IN
WHICH THE SUPERCELL STORM WAS MOVING.
HOWEVER...DAMAGE IN THE EAST PART OF LIGGIT WAS AGAIN CONCENTRATED
WITH THE DEBRIS LAID DOWN IN MANY DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. MANY OF
THE LITTIG RESIDENTS REPORTED THAT THE HIGH WINDS STRUCK AND THEN
WAS FOLLOWED BY THE "SOUND OF A FREIGHT TRAIN." ONE RESIDENT
REPORTED THAT HIS EARS POPPED JUST IN ADVANCE OF THE WORST DAMAGE.
THESE REPORTS...ALONG WITH THE SHAPE AND NATURE OF DAMAGE INDICATED
THAT PART OF THE DAMAGE IN THE EAST SECTION OF LITTIG WAS DUE TO A
SECOND TOUCHDOWN OF THE SAME TORNADO. THIS LOCATION WOULD BE ABOUT
1 MILE EAST OF THE FIRST TOUCHDOWN. THE TIME OF THE STRIKE IS
ESTIMATED AS 9:52 PM. THE TORNADO CONTINUED ON THE GROUND FOR
APPROXIMATELY ONE HALF MILE WHERE IT STRUCK A MOBILE HOME ALONG ITS
SIDE AND ROLLED IT INTO A SECOND MOBILE HOME. THE FIRST MOBILE HOME
WAS DESTROYED...ITS REMNANTS APPEAR TO HAVE PREVENTED MAJOR DAMAGE
TO THE SECOND MOBILE HOME. THIS DAMAGE WAS RATIED AS F1.
A THIRD TOUCHDOWN WAS INDICATED JUST EAST OF LITTIG WHERE THE OLD
SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH AND THE NEW SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH SUSTAINED
DAMAGE. THE LOCATION IS JUST EAST OF COUNTY LINE ROAD AND JUST
SOUTH OF VOELKER LANE. THIS TOUCHDOWN WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY BRIEF...
LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE IN LENGTH. IT WAS TIMED NEAR 9:54 PM
AND WAS RATED AS F0.
IN ALL...IT WAS MIRACULOUS THAT SO MANY LARGE PIECES OF TIN...WOOD
AND METAL HAD BEEN RIPPED FROM HOMES AND STRUCTURES AND THROWN
AROUND THE AREA...DRIVEN INTO THE GROUND...WRAPPED AROUND TREES AND
POLES...AND YET NOT A SINGLE INJURY.