Storms on the move through south Texas; Bexar County under Flood Advisory

SAN ANTONIO — Much of southwest Texas, including San Antonio, is under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 4 a.m. Tuesday. 

It’s shaping up to be another very wet night in the metro. Damaging winds, isolated tornadoes, and hail are all possible Monday night, but the biggest issue may be flooding. Bexar County is currently under a Flood Advisory until 4 a.m. 

The National Weather Service is reporting flash flooding in the Olmos Park area of San Antonio, as of 10:30 p.m. Monday evening. If you come across a flooded roadway, do not try to drive across the area. Remember – turn around, don’t drown!

Lots of lightning have been spotted with these storms. Check out photos sent to us of lightning over parts of Bexar County:

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect for Val Verde County until 10:15 p.m. but has since expired.

Storms lingered in the San Antonio metro area from Sunday night into Monday morning. The Severe Thunderstorm Warning for the Alamo City expired, but then the National Weather Service issued an urban and small stream flood advisory for poor drainage areas in Central Bexar County. That ended just before 11:30 a.m.

Meanwhile, power outages and road closures continue to be an issue in the San Antonio area.

As early as 9 p.m. Sunday, Bexar County residents began to lose power as sheets of rain came down and strong wind gusts did some damage. As of 1:30 a.m., more than 21,000 CPS Energy customers were without power.

By 5:30 a.m. Monday, the CPS Energy outage map said more than 5,200 were still without power. As of 6:30 a.m., the number dropped to 2,205 customers. And 30 minutes later, the number decreased to 1,474. As of 2:30 p.m. Monday, CPS Energy had restored power to all but 160 customers.

We took a look at the overnight damage in and around the area Monday morning:

The current weather pattern remains a highly active one for at least a few days. Expect more rain to fall through Wednesday; more severe weather is also possible, including flash floods. 

This is a developing weather event. Refresh the page for the latest updates.

When severe weather threatens the area, it is important to know what risks a storm can bring and what you should do to stay safe. 

One of the most important things to know is where you are located on a map, so when a watch or warning is put into place, you can identify if you are at risk. When the National Weather Service puts out warnings, they are county-based and sometimes include cities as well. It is important to know where you live in the county and that you can identify it on a map.

It is also important to know the difference between a watch and a warning. A watch means that conditions are favorable for something to happen, but a warning means that something has developed and it is important to take action.

So, what would cause a thunderstorm to be qualified as a “severe” thunderstorm?

Hail that is one inch large is also considered to be about the size of a quarter.

Another ingredient that would lead to a storm becoming severe is if winds are 58 mph or greater.

Winds at this strength could cause damage to roofs and could even cause trees to be knocked down.

Finally, if a tornado is present inside a thunderstorm it would qualify the storm as becoming severe.

In this instance, a tornado warning would be issued.

A tornado watch can be issued for an area if strong storms are expected, and if the storms bring the risk for tornadoes, but not all storms include the threat for tornadoes. The ingredients in the atmosphere for a tornado to form are not always there when storms are present.

If the area you are in is ever under a tornado warning, it is important to know where you should go inside your home.

Head to the lowest, interior room of your home. The basement would be best, but if you don’t have one, head to the first floor of the home and get away from exterior walls, or walls that lead to the outside of the home.

It is also important to stay away from glass. The more walls you can put between you and the outside, the better.

While lightning can be frequent in storms and very dangerous, it does not lead to a storm being qualified as severe.

Remember, when thunder roars, go indoors.

Storms can also lead to flooding. Flooding may not cause a storm to be labeled as being severe, but it is the deadliest kind of weather.

South Texas is known to have major flood events every few years, so it is important to use caution and to always stay out of floodwaters. Remember, turn around, don’t drown.

Entering flood water is very dangerous as you can be swept off of your feet and you don’t know what could be in the water that could hurt you.

The best thing you can do to be ready for severe weather is know what you will do in the event it strikes where you live.

Make sure your family has a severe weather action plan.

Have a place everyone goes inside your home and keep supplies there, such as food, medication, batteries, and flashlights.

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