Weather Service Assesses Tornado’s Damage Along Half-Mile Path

Surveyors with the National Weather Service found that a tornado that touched down Sunday night traveled just under a half-mile in Northwest San Antonio, meteorologist Aaron Treadway said.

The tornado caused some roof damage to homes in the area, broke windows, and left puncture marks from flying debris on the outside of homes, Treadway said.

The NWS issued a tornado warning on Sunday but did not confirm the presence of a tornado in San Antonio until Monday afternoon. Thunderstorms on Sunday also knocked out power for more than 63,000 CPS Energy customers, the utility said.

The NWS estimated the tornado’s maximum width was 50 yards and maximum wind speed was 100 miles per hour. The tornado was on the weaker end of the spectrum, Treadway explained. The weather service rated it an EF-1 tornado, on a scale of EF-0 to EF-5.

High winds also toppled fences and knocked over trees, Treadway said.

The City of San Antonio received reports of 60 downed trees from Sunday’s storms, all of which were removed by 7:30 a.m. Monday, spokeswoman Laura Mayes said. About 75 traffic signals were impacted by lightning or loss of electricity in the area, but none were damaged. Although additional signals were impacted by Monday night’s storms, all were restored by Tuesday.

As of Wednesday, the City of San Antonio received calls about and assessed 27 structures that sustained wind damage, said Development Services Department spokeswoman Ximena Copa-Wiggins. The City is still fielding calls and expects to have a final assessment of damage by the end of the week. Copa-Wiggins urged San Antonio residents to call 311 if their homes sustained storm damage so the City can send out surveyors to take a look.

Bexar County spokeswoman Monica Ramos said that surveyors from the County Office of Emergency Management found 16 structures in unincorporated Bexar County that suffered some damage from the storm.

“That includes Palomino Path and Geronimo Village areas,” Ramos said. “Some of them are homes, and some of them are HOA facilities like clubhouses and things like that. But the majority are all homes.”

Ramos warned Bexar County residents needing repairs or downed trees removed to check contractors’ references and ratings with the Better Business Bureau.

“You always want to be very careful when engaging with contractors,” Ramos said. “Oftentimes, you can get the best references for contractors from friends and neighbors.”

NWS predicted more storms in the San Antonio and Austin area Wednesday evening, according to the agency’s website.