Houston’s worst windstorm in 40 years leaves 800,000 without power

(Bloomberg) — Houston’s worst windstorm in 40 years killed at least four people, left more than 800,000 customers without power and grounded hundreds of flights across Texas.

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Wind gusts reached at least 125 kilometers per hour in the Houston metropolitan area on Thursday. The fourth most populous city in the United States has not seen such damage since Hurricane Alicia in 1983, said Hayley Adams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. It was also the worst straight-line wind event to hit Houston since May 1983, she said.

The utility CenterPoint Energy said restoration efforts in the hardest-hit areas are expected to take several days or longer. Severe weather damage that led to electrical service interruptions peaked at nearly 922,000 customers, the company said.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire called on businesses to tell non-essential workers to stay home while rebuilding work continues. Schools were closed. San Jacinto College has closed its doors for the day. More than a third of Harris County — the hardest-hit region — was still without power early Friday, according to utility data.

It can take days or even weeks to restore power in some places because transmission lines are down, the mayor said.

Houston has been hit by a series of devastating spring storms in recent years, with most of the damage due to flooding. The city’s large paved areas, combined with warmer air due to climate change, have contributed to many of these events which have often been concentrated in the month of May.

Along the Gulf Coast, from Texas to Mississippi, more than 904,075 customers were without power, according to PowerOutage.us.

Texas was hit hardest, with nearly 800,000 people.

In addition to the high winds over Houston, New Orleans reported a gust of 84 mph, said Peter Mullinax, a forecaster at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center.

Torrential rains fell north of Houston, with a wide area reaching between 7.6 and 10 centimeters (3 to 4 inches) – some isolated areas received much more.

“The story in Houston was the wind — the very significant flash flooding was concentrated north of Houston,” Mullinax said.

Canceled flights

As of Thursday, 708 flights in the United States were canceled, including more than 530 in Texas, according to FlightAware, an airline tracking company. Flight disruptions eased on Friday.

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There are reports of ships being buffeted by winds in the Houston Ship Channel, Mullinax said.

Social media posts showed violent gusts and shattered windows on skyscrapers in downtown Houston. The storm hit just as the grid was again warning of the risk of power shortages, with seasonal repair work reducing the availability of power plants and hot weather increasing demand.

Read more: Texas Power Grid predicts several days of supply tension

A line of storms developed Thursday in West Texas and a clash of dry air with heavy, moist Gulf air gave the system a boost, Mullinax said. This, combined with an active subtropical jet stream, provides the mix needed to trigger the terrible wind storms.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said 16 libraries were open and could be used as cooling centers over the weekend. The full extent of the damage, the number of deaths and the timetable for power restoration are still being assessed.

Flood watches and advisories were in place Friday morning from eastern Texas to western Florida and Alabama, according to the National Weather Service. Flood-prone waters near Houston rose earlier this month, closing roads, affecting energy supplies and forcing residents to flee.

Houston is under a flood warning until Tuesday. Only three tornado reports have been forwarded to authorities, but that number could increase as damage is assessed. Rain will continue Friday around Houston and the Gulf as temperatures soar, leaving those without power struggling to cool down.

“It’s another busy day on the Gulf Coast,” Mullinax said.

–With assistance from Brian Eckhouse, Naureen S. Malik and Rob Verdonck.

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