Massive Tornado Ripping Through Southern Coke County

ROBERT LEE, TX - The National Weather Service reports a large tornado a few miles south of Robert Lee. 

The tornado is moving toward the southeast corner of Coke County. 

The affected areas include southeastern Coke County, northeastern Tom Green County, and southwestern Runnels County.

At 5:28 p.m., a severe thunderstorm approached Tennyson, moving east at 20 mph.

As radar indicates, the storm poses hazards, including golf ball-sized hail and 70 mph wind gusts.

Baseball-sized hail was reported in the Bronte area as well. 

At 6 p.m., the NWS reported that the Paulann area, northeast San Angelo, received golfball-sized hail. 

At 6:10 p.m., NWS sent out an emergency alert, stating that a severe thunderstorm was in effect for the area until 6:45 p.m. for destructive baseball-sized hail. 

"Take shelter in a sturdy building, away from windows," NWS stated. "People and animals outdoors will be severely injured." 

Mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings will also likely experience wind damage.

The severe thunderstorm will impact Maverick around 5:35 p.m. and Norton around 5:45 p.m. Other areas likely to be affected include the intersection of Highway 208 and Ranch Road 2662 and Ballinger Lake.

A tornado watch remains effective until 10 p.m. for west central Texas.

Texas Storm Chasers reported an “extremely large and dangerous rain-wrapped tornado south of Robert Lee."

The tops of the tornado are at 70,000 feet, two times higher than airliners fly. 

Reed Timmer, a tornado chaser, also reported that a car flipped on Highway 208. Both the person and the dog inside were reported to be okay. He said that they were from San Angelo. 

Around 5 p.m., the City of San Angelo released information stating that weather radar had indicated a severe thunderstorm in Tom Green County.

There is a chance of hail at least 1” in diameter and winds more than 58 mph, which is possible with this storm.

"San Angelo may be in the path of these storms," information from the city stated. "While this storm is currently moving through Coke County, heading southeastward across relatively sparsely populated areas, continued southeastward motion could allow the storm to approach areas near and east of the San Angelo area in the next hour."