Austin, TX
'It felt like a tornado,' Austin rocked by rare microburst, experts explain more
AUSTIN, Texas — Some Austinites had never heard the word “microburst” until Wednesday night, but they definitely felt one. A sudden, violent storm system swept across Central Texas, uprooting trees, knocking down power lines, and causing deadly flash flooding.
Now, cleanup efforts are underway across East and Central Austin, and weather experts are explaining the rare force behind the damage.
According to the National Weather Service, a microburst is a sudden and powerful blast of wind that drops straight down from a thunderstorm and spreads out rapidly when it hits the ground. Though they may not have the name recognition of a tornado, microbursts can be just as damaging—and far less predictable.
“The winds can get rather strong, like we saw yesterday, and they can be rather significant,” said Mack Morris, meteorologist with NWS San Antonio.
“Damaging winds and microbursts can often be just as concerning for people and their homes as a tornado might be.”
In Wednesday’s case, a long-track microburst developed from a supercell thunderstorm, carving a path of destruction more than 10 miles long, stretching from Hyde Park, through Central Austin, and continuing east past the airport.
The National Weather Service estimated wind speeds exceeded 80 miles per hour in some spots, with a damage path up to 2.5 miles wide.
ALSO| Power lines and transformers taken out by toppling trees during supercell thunderstorm
Doorbell camera footage from East Austin captured the exact moment the wind wall rushed in, sounding like a freight train and ripping through yards, streets, and rooftops.
“We ended up getting water inside our house, our neighbors did, and several on our street lost power,” said East Austin resident Chris Layden.
The damage ranged from flash flooding and blown-out windows to flattened trees and collapsed structures. In one case, a gas station canopy crumpled onto two vehicles. Glass shattered inside the Texas Capitol, and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport recorded wind gusts of 77 miles per hour.
At Boggy Creek Farm in East Austin, co-owner Jackson Geyer said the storm hit so fast, he barely had time to react.
“I thought a tornado had blown through because I’ve never seen fallen trees like this here at the farm in Austin,” Geyer said.
“I’m just glad that none of our tractors were crushed, and especially that my grandmother wasn’t crushed.”
One of the farm’s oldest trees—more than 100 years old—was ripped out of the ground and landed on top of their hoop houses, also known as greenhouses. The structural damage, combined with flooding and wind, threatens the farm’s upcoming growing season.
Ring video shared by the farm shows the exact moment the windstorm hit their garden, with debris flying and the screen going white from wind and rain in just seconds.
Now, Geyer says they’re dealing with thousands of dollars in damage. And while the forecast threatens more rain, hail, and wind in the coming days, he’s staying hopeful.
“I think the weather will pass us, maybe. I’d like that.”
Thursday night, CBS Austin Chief Meteorologist Chikage Windler is tracking another round of storms expected to move through the area. Forecasters warn the incoming system could bring additional hail, heavy rain, and damaging wind gusts, particularly dangerous for neighborhoods still recovering and homes still without power.
Officials urge residents to:
- Avoid low-water crossings
- Keep phones and power banks charged
- Secure outdoor items that could blow away
- Stay weather aware, especially overnight
Austin Energy continues working around the clock to restore power, but has warned that outages could last several days in the hardest-hit areas.
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Trevor Goosby is a projected first-round pick in the upcoming 2027 NFL Draft. The Texas offensive lineman anchors the group up front for one of the best teams in the country and was named a preseason All-American by Walter Camp.
But his football career felt in jeopardy when he was in high school.
“That was kind of my biggest question,” said Goosby. “I was really nervous because would I be the same football player coming back?”
Goosby was born with a congenital heart defect and had open-heart surgery when he was just 16 years old. He wasn’t sure how this would change his everyday life, including his football career.
“Definitely a lot of nerves just because you’re getting your ribs cracked open essentially and getting your heart worked on…It was a scary moment. I remember driving up to the hospital super nervous.”
Goosby was able to recover and become a great football player. He said not only has he become a person in learning to fight through adversity, but it helped him as a player as well with improved endurance.
Now, the star Longhorn is giving back as much as possible.
Goosby hosted a camp in Austin to benefit the Children’s Heart Foundation. The organization works to fund research on congenital heart defects.
The offensive tackle is matching all donations up to $20,000 made to the Children’s Heart Foundation through the event and campaign.
“It means a lot to me just because of the heart condition I did have back when I was 16. That just kind of changed my life. I just want to bring awareness to that.”
The camp was at Hyde Park High School in Northwest Austin. Goosby spoke about what he hopes the young campers took away from the event.
“I think it’s just more than football. Football is a big part of what I do but it’s not who I am…I just want to show all these kids that I’m just another great guy and just someone they can look up to.”
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas is getting its first major new national stock exchange in decades, and finance experts say it could create new opportunities for Austin’s tech companies and startups looking to grow.
The Texas Stock Exchange is launching this week in Dallas, with live trading expected to begin as early as Friday. The exchange began operations Monday, and it says all publicly traded stocks should be available on the platform by the end of the month. Thousands of publicly traded stocks are expected to be available by then.
Ray Perryman, President and CEO of the Perryman Group, said the launch signals Texas’ growing influence in the financial sector.
“It really lets the world know that Texas is indeed a major player in this industry,” Perryman said.
Gov. Greg Abbott called the exchange another sign of Texas’ expanding economic reach, saying, “This is another step that expands the financial might of Texas in the United States, and cements our economic power on the global stage.”
ALSO| Past and present teachers are charged with improving student outcomes in Texas
Perryman said the exchange could provide another path for companies to go public and could help attract more growing companies to Austin and the rest of the state. He said the added access to capital could have ripple effects across the economy.
“It increases opportunities for firms in the area to expand, have access to capital, to be more profitable. That means they hire more people. That means they pay more taxes. That means they buy more things in their supply chains,” Perryman said.
Texas ranks second in the U.S. for Fortune 500 headquarters, behind California and ahead of New York. With the Texas Stock Exchange set to launch, experts say Austin’s startup community could see even more growth.
Perryman said Austin-area tech firms could benefit from having an in-state exchange option.
“They’ll now have a vehicle here in Texas that will be more efficient and less expensive to register on than the traditional exchanges,” Perryman said.
Perryman said the exchange’s success will depend on how many companies choose to list on it, how much investment it attracts, and how many additional companies decide to move to Texas.
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