Sunday Night Storms Knock Out Power to Thousands Across Austin
A line of severe thunderstorms swept through Central Texas Sunday evening, bringing high winds, heavy rain, hail, and lightning that left tens of thousands of Austin residents temporarily in the dark.
A 64 mph gust was measured in Georgetown and at the airport in Del Valle.
By this morning, crews had restored power to nearly all affected customers, though a small number remained without service.
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The storms, driven by a cold front, pushed through the Austin area Sunday evening. At the height of the outages, Austin Energy’s outage map showed 264 separate outages impacting nearly 19,000 customers, with the heaviest concentration reported in Southeast Austin. Since a utility customer typically represents about 2.5 people, the disruption affected an estimated 35,000 or more residents at its peak.
A severe thunderstorm watch remained in effect for much of Central Texas — including Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties — until 2 a.m. Monday. Several severe thunderstorm warnings briefly covered parts of the Austin area before expiring before midnight.
The vast majority of outages were resolved by Sunday night, and as of just before 6:00 a.m. this morning, 99.35% of Austin Energy customers had power restored.
Austin Emergency Management warned that power outages and surges from the severe weather can cause traffic signals to malfunction or shut down entirely, reminding drivers to treat any dark or flashing signal as a four-way stop.
Governor Greg Abbott announced Sunday that he directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate state emergency response resources in anticipation of severe storms expected to impact multiple regions of Texas beginning Sunday and continuing into Monday.
The storms were expected to clear by this morning, setting the stage for cooler temperatures to open the week. For Austinites still assessing the aftermath, officials recommend documenting any property or vehicle damage with photos for insurance purposes and staying alert for potential contractor scams that tend to follow major weather events.
Customers who experience any lingering outages can report them by calling Austin Energy at 512-322-9100, texting OUT to 287846, or visiting the Austin Energy outage map online.
Sources:
- KUT Radio (Austin’s NPR Station) — kut.org, May 10, 2026
- CBS Austin — cbsaustin.com, May 10, 2026
- KVUE News — kvue.com, May 11, 2026
ICE activity was reported Sunday morning on North Lamar and Longspur.
A rally at the Texas State Capitol over the weekend protested family and child ICE detentions.
Eight Texas moms, including three from Travis County, were released from jail ahead of Mother’s Day after community groups paid their bail.
The City of Austin is launching an aggressive new approach to homeless encampments today — one supporters say will clean up public spaces, but critics warn will only make a desperate situation worse.
Starting this week, Austin’s Homeless Strategies and Operations office is rolling out what it calls Homeless Encampment Management teams — six dedicated crews that will operate Monday through Friday, clearing camps at dozens of sites across the city. Each team will pair two police officers with cleanup crews. Three of the teams will focus on parks, greenbelts, and residential areas across North, Central, and South Austin. Two others will target encampments along roads and waterways, and a sixth team will handle litter cleanup at previously cleared sites.
City officials say the expanded program is long overdue. Austin has been receiving over 700 calls per month through 311 — roughly 23 a day — requesting encampment responses, and demand has consistently outpaced resources. Austin police will reassign members of its neighborhood district representatives program to accompany the sweep teams, primarily to keep city employees safe, though officers say they will act if illegal activity is encountered.
But homeless advocates are pushing back hard. “They’re planning to sweep people who have nowhere to go. The shelters are full,” said Cate Graziani, co-director of VOCAL Texas. Paulette Soltani of the same group argued the city is shifting resources toward criminalizing homelessness, especially since officials confirmed outreach workers will no longer be embedded in the teams conducting the sweeps.
Even some City Council members have expressed reservations. Council Member Ryan Alter, pointing to a series of sweeps last fall that cost over $800,000 and led few people out of homelessness, put it bluntly: “If you don’t have enough beds for the people on the streets, it doesn’t matter how many times you go sweep.”
All Austin Parks and Recreation facilities will be closed today for an all-staff training.
Facilities closing include pools, splash pads, golf courses, activity/recreation/senior centers, cemetery and administrative offices. Parks and other green spaces will remain open.
Hydrilla, an invasive aquatic plant, is spreading across Lake Austin and could make swimming and boating more difficult as summer approaches, according to Austin Watershed Protection.
Austin Watershed Protection said hydrilla is covering almost 600 acres of the lake.
WEATHER
SUNDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
SUNDAY’S RAINFALL TOTALS
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
Texans across the political spectrum opposed wall construction in Big Bend National Park. Now the Border Patrol’s plans include roadways and digital surveillance to monitor the rugged region. (Texas Tribune)
How the Trump administration is watering down FEMA. The prison system’s compassionate release program is called a “failure.” The threat to mail access to the abortion pill. And Texas is preparing to go all in on ocean desal.
(Episode form May 10, 2026)
New polling shows the Republican runoff between Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton within the margin of error, with early voting set to begin in just days. Adam Schwager breaks down how both candidates are positioning themselves as they await a potential endorsement from Donald Trump — and how that decision could still shape the outcome of the race.
Texas is temporarily backing off a controversial requirement that would have forced camps to install fiber optic connections ahead of this summer’s season. Dylan McKim explains how the change came after pushback and legal pressure from camp operators, and what it means for licensing and safety oversight moving forward.
An Austin-area high school community is rallying around a senior detained by ICE just weeks before graduation. Kelly Wiley reports on the case, the broader impact of expanding immigration enforcement agreements, and how similar situations are affecting students and families across Texas.
Thousands of Texans say they were misled by solar panel contracts that failed to deliver promised savings, leaving some locked into costly long‑term agreements. Investigator Arezow Doost examines the growing number of complaints, ongoing investigations, and new legislative efforts aimed at cracking down on deceptive sales practices.
A $30 million private-sector investment aims to train thousands of new electricians across Texas as demand surges from data centers and population growth. Adam Schwager reports on how the program will expand training capacity at technical schools and help address a growing workforce shortage that’s already delaying major projects.
(Episode form May 10, 2026)
Waco ISD says it is complying with state laws tied to classroom prayer and Ten Commandments displays amid a Texas investigation.
Paxton announced Thursday his office is investigating dozens of school districts, including Austin, Lake Travis and Dripping Springs ISDs, to ensure they’re following a state law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms.
Testing began last week in Kerr County for the outdoor flood warning sirens being installed along the Guadalupe River. The first phase of the warning system includes eight sirens along the North and South forks of the Guadalupe River in western Kerr County. (Texas Public Radio)
Tesla has issued a recall for some cars and Cybertrucks.
SPORTS
COLLEGE BASEBALL: Tennessee had their brooms out Sunday In Knoxville but there was no sweep.
Behind a multi-homer performance from Casey Borba, No. 4 Texas topped Tennessee, 13-6, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, the Longhorns (37-12, 16-10 SEC) became the first-ever college baseball program to reach 1,500 conference wins. (Texas Longhorns)
ON THE SCHEDULE
The final three games of the regular season begin Tuesday as the Longhorns host Missouri.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL: Texas is the No. 2 overall seed in this year’s NCAA softball tournament. The defending national champs are the top seed in the Austin regional, taking on the Wagner Seahawks, a team with a losing record, to start the tournament at 3 p.m. CT Friday. (KXAN-TV)
MLB: The Texas Rangers win a series in Chicago.
Jacob deGrom tied his season high with 10 strikeouts while earning the 1,900th of his career, Evan Carter hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-0 on Sunday.
The Texas right-hander allowed three hits in seven innings while striking out Ian Happ three times to end Happ’s career-best streak for reaching base at 30 games. (Associated Press)
Andrew Abbott allowed three hits in six sharp innings and Spencer Steer homered to help the Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros 5-0 on Sunday. (Associated Press)
Houston exits the weekend tied with the Los Angeles Angels for the worst record in the American League.
Will the Astros be sellers at Major League Baseball’s annual trade deadline at the end of July? (Houston Chronicle)
ON THE SCHEDULE
Both the Astros and Rangers return home for games beginning tonight.
NBA PLAYOFFS: Wemby got himself ejected and the San Antonio Spurs let one get away in Minnesota.
Anthony Edwards had 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter to help the Minnesota Timberwolves even their second-round NBA playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs with a 114-109 victory, following the stunning ejection of star Victor Wembanyama early in the second quarter of Game 4 on Sunday. (Associated Press)
GAME 5
MLS: Austin FC drew 2-2 with Minnesota United FC in a back-and-forth battle at Allianz Field on Sunday night.
Mikkel Desler earned Austin a penalty early in the first half, which Myrto Uzuni converted to give the Verde & Black the lead. The half quickly turned chaotic as Minnesota was awarded a penalty of its own shortly after. (Austin FC)
ON THE SCHEDULE
Just three games left in the season.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13
A postcard from Texas via Texas Parks & Wildlife.
Sights and sounds from the edge of the Big Thicket at Martin Dies Jr. State Park in Jasper.
