High winds early this morning caused the collapse of 300-foot self-supporting tower in northwest Abilene, Tex.
Owned by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the structure is located at the Abilene District office at 45250 North Clack St.
Crews discovered the downed tower this morning around 5 a.m, according to Cheryl Sawyers, spokeswoman for the TxDOT Abilene District.
“We suspected there was an issue with limited radio connectivity this morning around 2 a.m., so we are placing the damage time between 1:30 and 2:30 a.m.,” Sawyers said.
According to the National Weather Service, winds at 1:52 a.m. were 22 mph with a gust of 54 mph registered while a thunderstorm moved through. Gusts were in excess of 40 mph most of this afternoon. However, most reporting sites are at a level far below 300 feet and gusts could be considerably more at higher elevations.
The structure was built in 2012. Design for Taylor County under EIA/TIA 222G was a minimum basic wind speed of 90 mph.
