Beryl Updates: Millions of Texans Still Without Power

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Millions of Texans remain without power Tuesday as temperatures soar to 90 degrees and the heat index is expected to exceed 100 in parts of the state, a day after deadly winds and rain from Hurricane Beryl caused widespread damage.

On Tuesday, most customers in coastal Brazoria and Matagorda counties were without power, as were most of Polk, San Jacinto and Montgomery counties. A significant portion of Harris County, the state’s most populous, also remained without power.

Utility officials and state leaders said it would likely take several days for power to be restored to everyone — and temperatures are expected to rise steadily over the next week, said Ryan Knapp, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Temperatures between 80 and 90 degrees can create dangerous conditions for high-risk people, especially in a home without electricity, and finding ways to stay cool will be paramount, he said.

“Temperatures above 80 degrees Celsius can obviously warm up the inside of the house quite quickly,” Knapp said.

Heat is known to be a silent killer. The damage it causes can be more complex than, say, a tornado or wildfire. But extreme heat causes more deaths each year than any other weather hazard, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Heat can make people weak, dizzy and faint. In severe cases, people develop heat stroke, which causes organ damage or death.

Climate change caused by fossil fuel use has only exacerbated this risk in Texas, making summers more intense.

CenterPoint Energy expects to restore power to one million customers by the end of the day Wednesday. As of 11:40 a.m. Tuesday, 1.7 million customers were still without power.

CenterPoint is the primary electricity provider in Harris County, the state’s most populous county and the one that bore the brunt of the storm.

In its update Monday, the company said it would prioritize restoring power to facilities critical to public health and safety. Customers in the hardest-hit areas could experience extended outages, the company said.

“This will be a multi-day restoration event,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said during a briefing Monday evening.

North of Houston, 90% of Montgomery County customers served by Sam Houston Electric Cooperative were without power, as were 90% of customers in Polk County and 100% of customers in Trinity County, according to Sam Houston Electric Cooperative, the region’s primary utility.

“This will be a multi-day effort to restore the system,” Sam Houston Electric Cooperative said. written on social media platform X Monday morning. “Please make arrangements to keep yourself and your family safe.” The company also said it had deployed about 500 linemen, contractors and vegetation crews and expected more to arrive today.

The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for several counties in southeast Texas, with temperatures around 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) and heat index values ​​reaching 105 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius). Officials advised residents to drink water, wear light clothing and limit outdoor activities to avoid heat-related illness.

“If you factor in not only the lack of air conditioning, the higher temperatures and a higher heat index, the humidity increases, which adds to the discomfort,” Knapp said. “With the heat index being higher, that can definitely lead to heat stress and heat-related illnesses. It feels a lot hotter than it actually is.”

Disclosure: CenterPoint Energy is a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Funders play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a full list of these funders here.

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