
A violent tornado-like storm thrashed Houston this past Thursday. The deadly storm prompting tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings toppled transmission towers, trees, a crane, and blew out skyscraper windows. Nearly a million people were left without power and four people were sadly killed as a direct result of the storm.
Due to the severe damage Houston, Houston ISD schools are closed until Monday. Mayor John Whitmire has also urged businesses to allow employees to work from home. Around 500 flights in the Houston area were cancelled, with over one million Houston residents were left without power in wake of the storm according to The Weather Channel.
“I am urging your to PLEASE STAY HOME. It is not safe as power lines are down, power is out in many areas and there is a lot of debris causing traffic and hazardous conditions,” John Whitmire’s office wrote in a Twitter post. “Four people are confirmed dead after an exceptionally strong storm.”
Whitmire has since stated that Houston residents should expect their power to be restored from 24 to 48 hours. CenterPoint Energy has meanwhile asked customers to expect delays. The company encourages those to follow their Outage Tracker for updates on restoration. At the time of the article however the site is current down.
A River Flood Warning is presently in effect until 10 pm on Tuesday, May 22, with a marginal risk of severe weather today. According to SpaceCityWeather, the worst has thankfully passed:
“The major line of storms has already moved through central Houston, and it is steadily weakening as it as moves toward the coast,” the publication writes. “If it has stopped raining at your location, that is basically it. We may see a few trailing showers in the next couple of hours, but nothing serious. Tonight looks quiet.”
Witness the violence and destruction wrought by the Houston tornado storm as captured by social media:
Stay tuned for more details regarding closures, outages, and Houston statements.