What's the most impressive storm you recall?

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by hound 109

Jarrell was an F5 tornado....flattened everything in it's path.

The "October floods" were in 1998. (I was in NB). 27" in 24 hours (I think). It was nuts, imagine the hardest rain you ever saw falling.....& imagine it falling for 8 straight hours. Caused by an Gulf storm (hurricane?), colliding with a Pacific storm coming over the mountains of mexico which both collided with an early cool/cold front from Canada. & you're right...it was a "rain bomb". Not sure how bad it was in Austin, but NB (& SA) were hammered.

Same two for me. I was in an office tower on the tornado day, the view outside the windows was something I'll never forget. Once we heard there was a tornado, everyone in the building was evacuated to the first floor and basement. Scary day.

The October floods were something else too. I've never seen so much rain fall for so long.

Originally Posted by petro

There was a hail storm in May 2008 that broke all the windows on the north side of my house and took down trees all over the neighborhood.

That storm and hail blew a path straight across the center of Austin. It was unreal how much damage there was, then in other areas only a few blocks away there was nothing. It wasn't a tornado, but it sure seemed like it. The noise of our windows breaking and the hail and other objects hitting the roof were like being in a war zone.

[BillyH]

The 98 floods devasted parts of San Antonio, it started raining Saturday morning around 10:00am my rain gage recorded 17 inches Saturday and two more on Sunday. My back yard is flat large ponds were forming but subsided as the rain wasn't as intense Saturday evening. I never left the house, the local news had helicopters flying across the city with live footage. Parts of town I knew well I couldn't recognize, so much was under water. The news would name the major streets they were flying over. The hardest hit areas were along the main water sheds, the city bought out areas along Salado Creek. The homes were demolished some of the areas were turned into park land. The snow of 1985 13 inches was just fun, I was much younger then!

[Danbo1957]

Well, Hurricane Carla of 1961 was epic, the eye of the storm came straight through just east of Austin:

Hurricane Carla - 50th Anniversary

The 1970 rains and floods (San Marcos was hit harder than Austin), for several years we wore imprinted t-shirts with "I Survived the 1970 Flood". Hurricane Cecilia in 1970 brought a lot of rain and wind, took down a lot of old big trees. The tornado spawned by Hurricane Allen caused $100 million in damage when it hit Austin in 1980, broke up the heat wave though.

And, the 1981 Memorial Day Flood. I lived on Bullard at the time, and was right in the middle of it all while coaching a baseball game at Northwest Park in Allandale. Shoal Creek turned into a raging river-- cleanup and redevelopment of homes took several years:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/austin...7626196677382/

Allandale Neighbor: The 1981 Memorial Day Flood

Tales from the Memorial Day flood: Readers relive the danger, loss and heroism of 30 years ago | www.statesman.com

I watched the Jarrell tornado looking north through a huge plate-glass window at a bookstore on Research Blvd. We were listening to KLBJ-AM radio updating the damages...

[capcat]

The one that stands out to me was the 1981 flood. The ground was already saturated and then came the torrential rain on Memorial Day. I remember looking out to my backyard and it was covered in several inches of water, though we lived on high ground. Touring the aftermath, the damage was unbelievable in neighborhoods along Shoal Creek Blvd. We bought a home in Allandale a couple of years after that, but only because it was at the top of a hill.

I guess many remember the Jarrell tornado, but I don't recall much about our weather in Austin that day. I do remember being worried sick about my parents, who live out there. They could see it on the horizon, and my mom gathered quilts for protection. Like that would help. Their house wasn't touched, though. We toured the aftermath of that one, too. Just nothing left in some sections.

Not a single event, but the heavy storms that, at one time, seemed to occur with certainty at the end of August/first of September were memorable, bringing welcome relief from summer drought to many, and scorn from hunters anticipating opening day of dove season.

[Emil_TX]

For me, it would have to be Hurricane Alicia in 1983. I lived in Montrose, near downtown Houston and the eye went over us. It was very powerful. And fascinating. Didn't have electricity for about a week and had to go stay with my parents who lived over thirty miles away.