GRANGER, Texas (KXAN) — Central Texas experiences an average of five to six tornadoes every year and both Travis and Williamson Counties have recorded 71 tornadoes each since 1950.

While they’re often weak and short lived, that wasn’t the case in March 2022.

The thrill of the chase

Storm chaser Gabe Cox is fascinated with weather and, in his words, “had a lifelong obsession with the sky.” His live video along with doppler radar-based tornado warnings encourages people to seek shelter.

Storm chasers follow tornadoes, hurricanes and other fascinating and dangerous types of weather. As they storm chase, they often stream their live video online or through television partnerships. While they can get paid for their videos, their streams and their content are often secondary to their passion for weather and the thrill of the chase.

Storm chasers also serve as a valuable resource. They are storm spotters that are able to relay weather information and tornado observations back to the National Weather Service and the public in real time.

“This is ground truth to that text you just got on your phone, or to what you guys are saying on air, like, here’s the visual proof that something’s happening and something’s coming,” Cox said.

Three years ago, on March 21, 2022, Gabe and his team hunted the “Round Rock/Granger tornado” that started near Interstate 35 and State Highway 45 and continued through Williamson County.

“We were listening to you guys streaming … it was that audio that had us turn around and haul north to Granger,” Cox added, referencing KXAN’s wall-to-wall coverage.

Twister headed for Granger

That same day, Sharrion Threadgill was at home in Granger with her nephew and his wife and two children.

“We turned on KXAN … we turned it up actually louder and I told my nephew, ‘Let’s start making a plan here,'” Sharrion said.

Moments later, Gabe and his team captured the EF-2 tornado before it went straight to the Threadgill’s Granger home.

“I got hit with a wall, and I went flying across the house, and all I could remember is, ‘I think I’m gonna die today.’ And I’m thinking … where are the kids?” Sharrion Threadgill recalled.

As the tornado twisted their roof, the wind almost pulled her grand niece away.

“The tornado was taking her, and I grabbed the dress, and she fell, and I just landed on top of both of them. We just I just stayed on top of them. And I was just, we just, I was just screaming, ‘hold yourself to the ground, hold yourself to the ground’… it seemed like an hour, and it was really just the 45 seconds, I think,” Sharrion said.

When it was over, the family were able to walk away alive. But not much was left of their home.

They rebuilt on the same spot, but the Threadgill family weren’t going to take their chances at having another tornado. So they had an in-ground shelter built for extra peace of mind.

Tornado shelters aren’t common in Central Texas, but Sharrion’s husband felt he had no choice.

“We knew that it was not going to be comfortable living here if we didn’t have something, in case it ever happened again,” Dean Threadgill said.

As this severe weather season ramps up, they won’t wait to take action.

“You guys can inform us, but you can only keep us safe if we’re willing to follow the direction. And it is as simple as that,” Sharrion added.

Tornado terminology & safety

Whether a tornado warning is radar indicated, radar confirmed or observed, you should still take all tornado warnings seriously.

Should a tornado warning get issued for your area:

• Head to an interior room, away from windows and put as many walls as you can between you and the outside
• Cover yourself with a mattress and bike helmets if available in order to protect your head.

Stay with the First Warning Weather Team as we track any severe weather moving through Central Texas.