As authorities assess damage from devastating storms in the Houston area that killed at least seven people and knocked out power amid rising temperatures, residents in the Southeast and Gulf Coast face severe weather through Saturday that could bring another wave of extreme rainfall and severe thunderstorms.
Several storms with wind speeds of up to 100 mph and a tornado left a trail of devastation in the Houston area on Thursday. Several skyscrapers were damaged, sewage was released from the atmosphere and high temperatures caused power outages that could last for weeks.
At least four people were killed by the storm in Houston, two of them by fallen trees and a third in a crane accident, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said Thursday.
Three more deaths from the storm were reported in Harris County on Friday night. A man collapsed while trying to move a fallen power pole and a woman died when lightning struck the trailer she was in, starting a fire, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a post on X. Gonzalez said another victim, who had lost power, reportedly went to his truck to hook up his oxygen tank and was found unconscious Friday morning.
“Heartbreaking! My condolences go out to the families who lost a loved one in yesterday’s storm,” said Gonzalez.
The destructive storms will be followed by high temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius over the weekend and beyond, leaving many people without air conditioning.
According to PowerOutage.us, more than 366,000 homes in Harris County were still without power as of Saturday evening following the storms. Previously, the number was more than 900,000 homes. Authorities warned that restoring power to all homes would be a lengthy process.
CenterPoint Energy – the region’s main power provider – said the storm caused “significant damage to the company’s power transmission and distribution systems.” Thousands of workers are deployed to help with reconstruction efforts, the company said.
More than 376,000 of its customers were affected and in the last 24 hours up to Saturday night, power was restored to more than 259,000 customers, the company said on its website.
“CenterPoint Energy is working to largely complete restoration for customers serviced by Wednesday evening,” CenterPoint Energy said. “The hardest hit areas of our territory are: Bellaire, Cypress, Baytown, Greenspoint, Humble and Spring Branch.”
The rains, combined with strong winds and power outages, also caused over 100,000 gallons of domestic wastewater, also known as sanitary sewage, to leak. The leaks occurred in three different locations around the city, but Houston Public Works assured residents that the city of Houston’s drinking water remains safe.
Amid increasing heat, the city of Houston opened cooling centers for its residents on Friday, officials said in a news release. The heat index, which indicates what the body actually feels, could reach triple digits next week, increasing health risks from the deadliest weather threat.
“The weather will be hot and dry starting Saturday, so it’s important to have a way to keep cool,” the National Weather Service warned on Friday.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire, who signed the city’s disaster declaration on Friday, toured downtown and said the “devastation is significant.”
“We urge everyone to stay away from the area for your own safety and to allow public service workers to do their vital work,” Whitmire said.
The weather service classified the line of severe storms that moved through Texas and Louisiana on Thursday as a “derecho,” a potentially destructive weather event characterized by widespread wind damage combined with a long-lasting line of thunderstorms.
Derechos have consistent wind gusts of 58 mph or more over a track of at least 400 miles, along with several clearly separated gusts of more than 75 mph. Determined based on the length and intensity of the track.
Further flash floods and destructive wind gusts possible on Saturday
Excessive rainfall and severe thunderstorms will continue in parts of the southeast through Saturday, the National Weather Service said.
According to the National Weather Service, new thunderstorms will develop from the southeast to the north-central Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, bringing the possibility of additional flash flooding and destructive wind gusts.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, a slight risk of thunderstorms of level 2 to 5 was issued for Saturday in parts of the Southeast as far north as the Carolinas.
“Isolated to isolated severe thunderstorms are possible across parts of the Southeast and the Carolinas, as well as parts of the Midwest on Saturday,” the center said. “Damaging winds are likely to be the main threat, but occasional heavy hail and a tornado or two are also possible.”
A light rain forecast of level 2 to 4 was also issued for parts of the northern Gulf Coast on Saturday due to sudden flooding and flooding in cities and along rivers, the weather service said.
Heavy rain is also expected to continue through Saturday in the Mid-Atlantic region and the central Appalachians. Isolated flash floods could occur there.
Thunderstorms are expected to develop over the central high plains on Sunday and spread eastward in the evening. The greatest chance for severe weather is in parts of Nebraska and Kansas, where the Storm Prediction Center is issuing a slight thunderstorm risk of level 2 out of 5.
“The main danger is heavy hail and destructive gusts, but the odd tornado is also possible,” the center said in a statement.
By the end of the weekend, the probability of thunderstorms will decrease in most parts of the Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic, the weather service said.
CNN’s Monica Garrett and Mary Gilbert contributed to this report.
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