Thunderstorms brought rain, hail and flash flooding to parts of Texas on Tuesday, prompting a search for a man who went missing when he was swept from his car at a Georgetown low-water crossing.
An elderly couple's car was stranded in rushing waters when they tried to drive across Berry Creek on Tuesday night, Georgetown spokesman Keith Hutchinson said. The man and woman were swept from the car, but the woman came ashore not far downstream.
Emergency workers "have since been looking for the man. He has not been found," Hutchinson said in a story posted overnight on the Austin American-Statesman Web site. The woman was hospitalized, but her condition was unknown.
The Austin and San Antonio areas endured their heaviest storms Tuesday afternoon, said Bob Burton, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Corpus Christi.
Tuesday night and Wednesday morning the storms pounded sections of South Texas. High winds ripped a roof off of a metal shed in Rockport, water covered roads in Live Oak County and hail nearly 2 inches in diameter was reported in the Freer area of Duval County, Burton said.
Danny Madrigal, an investigator with the Goliad County Sheriff's Department, said a firefighter near Berclair reported seeing a tornado on the ground for about five minutes Tuesday night but there were no immediate reports of damage.
There were isolated reports of penny-sized hail and winds of up to 50 mph Tuesday as the storms moved across North Texas, said Alan Moller, a Weather Service meteorologist.
On Tuesday afternoon, emergency responders in San Antonio were called to five high-water rescues of motorists stranded in vehicles by rising water, but no injuries were reported, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
In the Austin area on Wednesday, mostly cloudy skies were expected with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms and highs in the upper 70s. By evening, partly cloudy skies were expected with areas of fog after midnight and lows in the mid-50s.
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms was expected in the Dallas area with highs in the upper 70s. By evening, cloudy skies were expected with lows in the upper 50s.
In the Houston area, a 70 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms was expected. Some thunderstorms were expected to be severe in the morning and produce gusty winds and heavy rainfall in the afternoon. Highs were expected in the mid-70s. A 30 percent of showers and thunderstorms was expected by the evening with areas of fog late and lows in the upper 50s.
In the Amarillo area, partly cloudy skies were expected with highs in the upper 70s. By evening, partly cloudy skies were expected with lows in the lower 40s.