A powerful tornado tore through Round Rock on the evening of March 21, 2022, leaving a trail of destruction across the rapidly growing city north of Austin.
ROUND ROCK, Texas — The 2022 Round Rock storm struck just before 6 p.m. as part of a larger severe weather outbreak across Central Texas. According to the National Weather Service, the tornado touched down around 5:54 p.m. and remained on the ground for more than 30 minutes, carving a path of 35 miles through Williamson County.
Officials later classified the tornado as an EF-2, with peak winds reaching approximately 135 miles per hour. The high winds caused extensive damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure, particularly near the Interstate 35 corridor and State Highway 45. Buildings were partially collapsed, vehicles overturned, and power lines downed, prompting widespread outages.
Emergency responders were inundated with calls reporting injuries, gas leaks, and structural damage. At least 16 people were injured – though, remarkably, no fatalities were reported. Temporary shelters were quickly established for displaced residents as crews worked through the night to assess damage and restore services.
City officials later estimated that more than 680 homes were affected, with damages exceeding $32 million. In the days following the storm, hundreds of volunteers joined cleanup efforts, highlighting a strong community response in the face of disaster.
At about the same time, a different tornado spun up and caused damage in Elgin in Bastrop County.
The tornadoes were among several that touched down across Texas that day, making it part of one of the state’s most significant single-day tornado outbreaks in recent history.