Severe storms in Texas resulted in the unfortunate death of one individual, as baseball-sized hail wreaked havoc.
A powerful thunderstorm wreaked havoc in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan areas on Tuesday afternoon, unleashing hurricane-force winds and destructive hail. As of Wednesday morning, over 400,000 customers in Texas remain without electricity, as reported by utility tracker PowerOutage.us. This follows a previous day where more than a million individuals were left without power as a result of the storms.
According to FlightAware, the storm caused significant travel disruptions on Tuesday. Over 500 flights were delayed and approximately 350 flights were canceled at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
According to a report from local outlet KHOU 11, a tragic incident occurred where a sixteen-year-old construction worker lost his life when a home in Magnolia County collapsed, trapping him under the debris.
According to officials, the home collapsed due to the shifting of the framing during the storm. Sadly, the teenager had already passed away when rescue teams recovered his body from the debris.
Storms persisted until early Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The Colony, a suburb of Dallas, experienced the strongest wind gust, reaching 95 miles per hour.
Repairing the widespread power outages, especially in the heavily affected Dallas County, could potentially take days, according to officials.
According to Grant Cruise, a spokesperson for utility company Oncor, the recent weather event caused a substantial number of downed lines.
Many parts of our area will require complete reconstruction rather than simple repairs.
On Tuesday morning, powerful winds wreaked havoc on power lines and buildings, causing significant damage. In an astonishing display of their strength, the winds were so forceful that they managed to blow American Airlines flight 737-800 away from its gate at Dallas-Fort Worth International.
According to a report from local outlet WFAA, as the strong winds continued, there were reports of an overturned 18-wheeler truck and several car wrecks on Texas highways.
Texas held a primary run-off election on Tuesday, where voters had the opportunity to determine the final candidates for November’s ballot. However, due to the power outages in the Dallas metro area, polling places experienced disruptions, leading officials to extend the polls by two hours. This decision was made in response to the numerous polling places that lost power during the run-off elections.
According to a report by The Texas Tribune, the recent storms caused power outages in four counties, affecting a total of 76 polling places.
According to Nicholas Solorzano, the communications manager at the Dallas County Elections Department, the storm unexpectedly affected many people who were on their way. He mentioned that several locations, including schools and libraries, are still experiencing power outages.
Just two days after the area was hit by a powerful weather event called a derecho, a storm rolled in. Derecho is a type of windstorm characterized by its widespread and long-lasting nature, often accompanied by a band of fast-moving showers or thunderstorms.
“A significant number of individuals are once again facing power outages. It feels like we just dealt with the destructive derecho a few weeks ago, and many are still grappling with its aftermath,” shared Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the esteemed leader of the county encompassing Houston, in a heartfelt video shared on social media late Tuesday.
Multiple tornadoes were reported in the state over the weekend, with one tearing through Cooke County on Saturday night, around 50 miles north of Dallas. The devastating storms claimed the lives of seven individuals, just before Memorial Day.
Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes wreaked havoc across the US over the holiday weekend, claiming the lives of an additional 16 people.
The storms also caused significant disruptions to Memorial Day travel, resulting in numerous flight cancellations and delays across the country. Additionally, heavy rainfall battered Interstate 95, a crucial north-south freeway connecting the East Coast.
