State of disaster declared as storms rip through Sabinal, Texas

Intense storms swept across the city of Sabinal on the night of June 10, causing widespread damage and flooding.

A state of disaster was declared by the city’s mayor on June 11 due to the significant damage, as the storms left 35% of the customers in the area without power.

Widespread flooding was also reported in many areas due to intense rain associated with the storms. At its peak, American Electric Power (AEP) Texas reported that 35% of the city’s residents had lost power.

“I’ve been around these parts for 35 years. I’ve never seen anything like this,” said contractor Tony Davis from Above All Tree and Services, who was working on clearing out the storm damage in the city.

The National Weather Service (NWS) assessed the damage using photos, ground reports, and radar data and stated that the damage was most likely caused by straight-line winds, not a tornado. As of Wednesday afternoon, the NWS did not plan to send anyone out to Sabinal for an on-site survey.

“Based on photos, ground reports from emergency management, and radar data, the damage that occurred in the Sabinal area Tuesday night is most likely associated with straight-line winds. This is a good example of how high winds can be produced by more than just tornadoes,” said NWS meteorologist Jason Runyen.

“When looking at the images, we can look at trees, roofing, power poles, and other damage indicators to get an idea of what the wind speeds might be. Structures are susceptible to wind at varying degrees, based on the quality of construction and the angle at which the wind impacts it. Images we have gathered from Sabinal suggest wind speeds of 60–80 mph (97–129 km/h) likely occurred to produce this straight-line wind damage,” Runyen added.

According to state law, the disaster declaration activated the City of Sabinal’s emergency management plan and can last for up to seven days.

Rishav Kothari

Rishav Kothari is Editor-in-Chief of The Watchers, where he runs the newsroom and covers earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather and space weather.

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