QUICK SUMMARY
A severe storm in Austin on May 28 caused power outages for over 124,000 residents, marking it as the third-worst storm in Austin Energy's history. Utility officials reported that the storm's effects exceeded expectations, prompting immediate restoration efforts.
On May 28, a severe storm hit Austin, resulting in power outages for over 124,000 residents and becoming the third-worst storm in Austin Energy's history. Utility representative Matt Mitchell reported that the storm's impact exceeded expectations, with 72,500 outages occurring within the first day. The storm, described as a rare "microburst," unleashed strong winds, torrential rain, and lightning, causing significant damage to infrastructure and the tree canopy in areas like Shoal Creek and East Austin. Austin Energy quickly deployed teams and requested assistance from other regions in Texas for restoration efforts. Following the storm, another round of severe weather on June 15 caused outages for an additional 13,000 customers. By the evening of June 15, around 300 customers still faced service interruptions. Mitchell stated that the utility plans to analyze the incident for insights into enhancing system durability as such storms are expected to occur more frequently. Local authorities are advising residents to develop emergency outage strategies in response to the increasing severity of weather events in Central Texas.