A Dusty Drive: Thursday’s wind and storms leave cars covered in dust

Thursday’s cold front brought downright windy conditions to South Central Texas from both the cold front itself and developing thunderstorms, which also went on to produce heavy rain, lightning and pockets of hail.

West Texas dust/wind damage

Those gusty winds were able to stir up plenty of dust in West Texas Thursday, which then filtered east into South Central Texas after the cold front moved through. That dust then clung to vehicles thanks to the rain and storm activity, making for a dusty morning commute and drive to school on Friday.

Blowing dust in Del Rio just moments again as the cold front blasted through. https://t.co/jeQ7c1KAkO

— NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio)

March 2, 2023

High winds also caused power outages in and around the San Antonio area, and damaged a few utility poles, trees and greenhouses/playgrounds.

A storm that swept through the San Antonio area on Thursday night left some damage for residents and business owners. Photos and videos posted on KSAT Connect show toppled trees, playgrounds and utility poles. (KSAT Connect)

A collection of wind-damage photos sent in by KSAT 12 viewers can be found here.

Peak wind gusts

Here is a list of official peak wind gust reports across South Central Texas, which are a mixture of both thunderstorm-related gusts and non-thunderstorm-related gusts, depending on the location:

LocationPeak Wind GustSan Antonio International Airport58 mphStinson Municipal Airport53 mphKelly Field60 mphRandolph Air Force Base52 mphDel Rio International Airport72 mphPleasanton Municipal Airport51 mphBoerne Stage Field Airport40 mphLost Maples44 mphNew Braunfels Regional Airport58 mphGuadalupe River State Park40 mphRocksprings47 mphKerrville Municipal Airport39 mphGonzales51 mphKarnes County Airport58 mphSeguin49 mphPearsall40 mphEagle Pass63 mphHondo Municipal Airport63 mphUvalde, Garner Field Airport60 mphDimmit County Airport49 mph

Winds are calm Friday afternoon with plenty of sunshine in store this weekend!

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