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Austin area at risk of strong storms and hail this afternoon and evening

Dark rain clouds fill the sky with the tops of trees visible along the bottom of the photo.
Renee Dominguez
/
KUT News
The National Weather Service recommends that people have multiple ways of staying informed about the weather.

A batch of strong thunderstorms could hit the Austin area Tuesday afternoon and evening. The main threats are damaging winds, hail up to the size of tennis balls, frequent lightning and a possible tornado, according to the National Weather Service.

Storms are expected to blow through the Austin area between 8 and 11 p.m. Counties with the greatest risk of severe weather include AGÕæÈ˰ټÒÀÖ, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell.

Watch versus warning

A severe thunderstorm watch means storms are capable of forming, and you should be prepared to take action if it progresses into a warning. A severe thunderstorm warning means there is "imminent danger to life and property," and you should take shelter immediately, .

Similarly, a tornado watch means that conditions are favorable for tornadoes � be prepared to take shelter if it becomes a warning, which happens when a tornado has actually been sighted or indicated by a weather radar.

As storms continue to develop, here's how you can stay informed:

  • Follow the  for the latest weather updates.
  • Follow Austin Emergency Management on  or  for local notifications and tips.
  • Go to  to sign up for emergency alerts. 
  •  to report a power outage or see a map of current outages.  If you're a customer of another energy provider, ,  and  have their own outage maps.
  • : The website allows you to check rainfall totals for the area in near real time. You can also look at lake levels, streamflow and river stage.
  • : Flooding can make low-lying roads dangerous to drive on. You can look at which roads in Central Texas are closed due to flooding here.
  • KUT also has a list of that post about local weather.

Follow the latest updates from the National Weather Service below:

Chelsey Zhu is the digital producer at KUT. Got a tip? You can email her at [email protected].