Severe winds slam Calhoun County, flip 18-wheeler and damage structures

Wind in Calhoun County hit speeds of 119 mph May 1, according to preliminary reports obtained by the U.S. National Weather Service, causing damage to homes and vehicles.

According to U.S. National Weather Service – Corpus Christi Senior Meteorologist Liz Sommerville, straight line winds were reported in the Point Comfort area. In video and photos sent to the service, Sommerville stated that high wind speeds have resulted in damage to homes and other structures.

“At this point, it looks like it’s straight-line winds, but just because they were only straight-line winds doesn’t mean there wasn’t significant damage. Most of the damage that we’re seeing through pictures and video is straight-line wind,” Sommerville said. “It looks like most of the damage started near Coleto Creek and went all the way across Placedo into Point Comfort and even Port O’Connor, but we’re not sure of Port O’Connor.”

No signs of a tornado were reported at this time, but reports of quarter-sized hail were reported, alongside straight-line winds, Sommerville said. Included in the damage was an empty 18-wheeler that flipped on its side, she explained.

“There was also a train car that was pushed over, but we're not sure about it at this point,” Sommerville said. “We will be doing a storm survey tomorrow up near Placedo just to make sure everything was straight line winds. We’re not really see anything that would indicate a tornado. I haven’t really seen anything else besides wind damage today. I haven’t seen anything about hail damage, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any. There were some reports of quarter-sized hail that we saw, which could cause some damage, but we haven’t seen too much of that.”

The U.S. National Weather Service plans to send personnel to record damage and measure the impact May 2, Sommerville said.

“One of the things we’re working on tonight is looking for what damage is out there and then we’ll have folks in the area assessing the damage,” Sommerville said. “This data is all preliminary.”

To report damage or wind speed measurements, contact the U.S. National Weather Service at 361-289-0959, sr-crp.socialnetwork@noaa.gov, weather.gov or x.com/nws.