BELLVILLE—Palm-sized hail rained down upon Bellville on March 15, around 2:45 p.m., shattering windows and destroying vehicles in a freak weather pattern that included straightline winds.
Roads were inundated with rain, and hail piled high to look like a winter snowstorm had just passed through. Damaging winds uprooted trees, downed power lines and caused extensive property damage.
According to Austin County Emergency Management Director Roy Mercer, the National Weather Service classified the powerful storm that blew through as a straight-line wind and not a certified tornado.
It was explained at times the weight of the object being impacted by the wind can cause a twisting motion that may mimic tornado damage.
The most impacted area of the storm was around Hacienda and Tesch streets. Electricity was out throughout Bell- ville, but city and contract crews worked throughout the night to restore power.
An Incident Command Center was established by the Bellville Police De partment immediately after the storm and has since been closed. Bellville Po lice Chief Jason Smalley issued a notice to be aware of contractors seeking to do business with homeowners because of the damage. Contractors must have a permit to work in Bellville.
If there was a silver lining in the cloud, it was that there were no reported injuries throughout the ordeal.
