7 deaths and widespread power outages after Texas storm. Forecasters are now warning of severe heat.

Houston area Saturday prepared for dangerous heat after a deadly storm that brought winds of up to 100 mph caused billions of dollars in damage and left hundreds of thousands of people without power in Texas.

At least seven deaths have been blamed on Thursday night’s storms, which smashed windows of downtown high-rise buildings, toppled trees and tore walls off homes.

On Saturday morning, the National Weather Service in Houston said power outages could continue for days or weeks due to damaged transmission lines. “We hope the power outages are resolved quickly for all of you,” the office said. “Stay safe, y’all.”

In an advisory, AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate from the Texas windstorm puts total damage and economic losses in the Houston metro area at more than $5 billion. This is similar to the effects of historic hurricanes such as Ike in 2008 and Alicia in 1983.

President Joe Biden on Friday issued a disaster declaration for parts of Texas surrounding the Houston area due to severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding. The federal funding is intended to supplement local recovery efforts to clean up the wreckage.

Weekend weather remains a concern across the southeastern United States, which expects heavy rain, flash flooding and sweltering heat this weekend. The intense heat is particularly worrisome around Houston, where more than 300,000 power outages were reported Saturday morning.

“Please take safety precautions when using generators,” the Houston National Weather Service office posted on social media Friday. “Also, with high temperatures around 90° this weekend, know the symptoms of heat exhaustion/stroke. Don’t overdo it during the cleaning process.”

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Weekend forecast: risk of flooding, high temperatures

The Florida Panhandle and parts of southern Georgia and Alabama will experience showers and thunderstorms along the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, the NWS Weather Prediction Center said during a short-term forecast discussion end early Saturday. Forecasters have warned of flash flooding in the Gulf Coast region due to soil saturation.

Storm risks will ease overnight Saturday and Sunday as the northern portion of the frontal system moves eastward into the Atlantic Ocean, according to the forecast.

Over the weekend, scorching temperatures reaching the 90s will hit South Florida, federal forecasters said. Factoring in humidity, heat indexes could reach near 110, prompting a heat advisory across South Florida on Saturday.

South Texas is expected to see heat reach the mid-100s and heat indexes exceed 110 degrees near Corpus Christi on Tuesday. Summer heat will extend to the Central Plains and Midwest, forecasters said.

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Meanwhile, parts of the Central Plains face an increased risk of severe weather, including large hail, damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes, according to the Federal Storm Prediction Center. Local heavy rain could also be possible, especially from the Central Plains northeastward to the Upper Mississippi Valley.

Contributor: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Houston power outages persist after storm; hot weather forecast