HOUSTON (AP) — Power outages continued to affect numerous locations in storm-battered Texas following another round of severe weather that led to flooding, fallen trees, and damaged roofs. Tragically, a teenager lost their life at a construction site when working on a home that ultimately collapsed.
The severe weather on Tuesday, which left over 1 million customers without power at one point, was part of a series of deadly storms, some of which spawned tornadoes, across the U.S. over the Memorial Day weekend, resulting in the loss of 24 lives across seven states.
The recent flooding and destruction in Houston came shortly after the area was hit by a weather phenomenon known as a derecho, a powerful, long-lasting windstorm associated with a line of fast-moving showers or thunderstorms. The previous storm resulted in eight fatalities and left many customers without power.
“Many individuals are once again facing power outages. We are still recovering from the derecho a few weeks ago, which was incredibly devastating, and many are still trying to recover from it,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in a video message posted on social media on Tuesday night.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell planned to visit Arkansas on Wednesday, where seven people lost their lives during the weekend storms, as part of the ongoing assessment of tornado damage by the Biden administration.
The risk of heavy rains, flash flooding, and severe weather was expected to persist on Wednesday in Oklahoma and Texas. Thunderstorms were forecasted to move through eastern Montana and Wyoming, as well as northeastern Colorado, before heading into Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and northern Texas.
The power outages in the Dallas metropolitan area on Tuesday prompted officials to extend poll hours by two hours in the state’s runoff elections due to several polling locations losing power.
The city set up respite centers for residents seeking shelter and air conditioning after strong winds reaching 80 mph caused widespread damage to homes. Footage from local news stations showed homes without roofs, some of which were damaged by uprooted trees. The city announced that crews would work nonstop throughout the week to clear downed trees.
Social media posts captured winds pushing an American Airlines plane away from a gate at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The airline reported that multiple parked and unoccupied aircraft were affected by the severe weather, but there were no injuries.
According to FlightAware, around 500 flights were canceled at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport due to the weather, with nearly 200 more cancellations at Dallas Love Field Airport.
Highways were flooded, and over 300,000 customers were left without power in the Houston area, which is still recovering from hurricane-force winds earlier in the month.
In a tragic incident, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reported that a 16-year-old boy lost his life when a home under construction shifted and collapsed during a thunderstorm in Magnolia, a suburb of Houston. The teenager was confirmed to be an employee of the construction company and had permission to be on-site.
Magnolia Fire Department Division Chief Jason Herrman stated that three construction homes collapsed during the storm.
The National Weather Service cautioned that the active and impactful weather pattern would persist in the central U.S. in the coming days.
Deadly storms over the weekend claimed lives in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia. Meanwhile, in the Midwest, a unique weather event known as a “gustnado,” resembling a small tornado, provided some dramatic moments at a Michigan lake.
For more information on recent tornado reports, visit The Associated Press Tornado Tracker.
Associated Press journalists across the nation contributed to this report, including Paul J. Weber, Ken Miller, Jennifer McDermott, Sarah Brumfield, Kathy McCormack, Acacia Coronado, Jeffrey Collins, Bruce Schreiner, Julio Cortez, Valerie Gonzalez, and Mark Thiessen.
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