Officials reported more weather-related deaths in Texas Friday night after the storm battered the Houston area. Meanwhile, severe weather is expected to cause even more damage in the Southeast, bringing hail, wind damage and the risk of tornadoes to the region through the weekend.
On Friday night, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for parts of southern Georgia, southeastern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, and confirmed three tornadoes were in the Pittsburgh area.
The NWS issued a flash flood warning Friday night for parts of Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio and Florida. Some areas have already seen up to 3.5 inches of rain, and more is possible, the weather service said.
The severe weather comes after Houston witnessed scenes of destruction. Severe storms with winds of up to 160 miles per hour littered roads with debris and littered the ground downtown with broken glass.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed three additional deaths from the storm in a social media post Friday night. Earlier, authorities had reported that at least four people were killed in the storm.
“We are in recovery mode,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire said.
The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado formed Thursday night near Cypress, about 30 miles northwest of Houston, with wind speeds reaching 110 mph. NWS meteorologist Jeff Evans said Friday that the agency is also investigating reports of an unconfirmed tornado in Galena Park, about 11 miles east of downtown. “Most of the damage this time was due to straight-line winds,” he said.
At least 4 people killed in Texas storm
Mary Benton, a spokeswoman for the mayor, told USA TODAY that the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office will identify the deceased and determine the cause of death.
Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said Thursday that two of the deaths at the scene were caused by fallen trees. Another person died in a crane accident.
On Friday, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said it would take time to assess the impact of the storm, which left 740,000 customers without power, mostly residents of Harris County.
“We haven’t seen winds like this in Harris County since Hurricane Alicia in 1983,” she said.
Alicia, a Category 3 hurricane, hit the state in August 1983 with winds of up to 110 mph, according to the NWS. It caused more than $7 billion in damage.
Officials warn it could take weeks for power to be restored in some areas
Hidalgo signed the disaster declaration Friday morning and said the Houston administration is in contact with the White House.
in news briefing On Friday afternoon, Hidalgo warned that it could take weeks for power to be restored in some areas.
Hidalgo said most of the damage from the storm appeared to be in the Cypress area. A helicopter scan of the affected area revealed that the destruction was not as extensive as expected.
The storm comes weeks after heavy rain and thunderstorms flooded the Houston area earlier this month. In late April, Groveton and Trinity X, two towns about 100 miles north of Houston, received 10 and 9 inches of rain, respectively.
Abbott issued a disaster declaration late last month following severe storms that battered the state several weeks ago with flooding, hail and dangerous winds. He asked President Joe Biden in a letter Tuesday to declare a major disaster for the state.
Hidalgo said debris had been removed from the highway as of Friday morning, but was still scattered throughout the area.
“Downtown is in chaos.”
On Thursday night, Whitmire urged residents to stay home amid dangerous road conditions. The widespread power outage also knocked out traffic lights across the city, posing a dangerous traffic stop for morning commuters. Whitmire said officials are also “concerned” about the danger of broken glass on the road.
“Downtown is a mess. There’s no glass and no traffic lights, so it’s dangerous,” he said. “So please stay home. We cannot stress this enough, but we repeat it enough.”
more:How do thunderstorms form? Here’s what actually happens during severe weather.
Fire Chief Peña said the majority of emergency calls to the fire department were for downed power lines or gas leaks. “If you smell gas inside your home, it could potentially be dangerous. So if you smell gas, call 911 outside the building,” he said. Ta.
He said more than 900 customers of utility company CenterPoint Energy lost power. Power is expected to be restored for up to 48 hours for some residents. The company told X that restoring full power will take “several days of restoration work.”
As of Friday morning, more than 420,000 power outages had been reported in the Houston area, representing 20% of all power accounts, according to USA TODAY’s national power outage tracker.
Houston Metro announced Friday that it will run shuttle buses on the Purple and Green lines due to power outages and debris on the tracks. Morning commuters should expect travel delays.
Schools across the region closed their doors due to the bad weather. Whitmire also asked employers in the downtown area to allow employees to work from home.
There was a slight risk of severe weather in Houston by Friday morning, with cloudy skies and some rain expected in the afternoon, according to the Weather Channel.
more:Severe storms hit Texas, killing four people.Tornadoes and flooding loom in the southeastern United States
Storm brings hail, rain and chance of tornadoes to Southeast
However, this storm system is expected to bring severe thunderstorms and excessive rain to the lower Mississippi Valley and Alabama starting Friday and continuing into the weekend.
“If you like rain and storms, the next two days are the way to go,” the National Weather Service in Birmingham posted on X Friday morning. Hail and “damaging winds” of up to 60 mph could hit parts of southern Alabama, including Montgomery and Selma, with the possibility of several tornadoes.
As the storm moves east, up to 8 inches of rain could inundate northeastern Texas and parts of Alabama and Florida, causing severe flooding, according to AccuWeather.
The Weather Channel reported that areas of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama could be at risk of flash flooding throughout the night. The region faces an isolated tornado threat Saturday amid damaging winds.
The Mobile Weather Service said the main threats from the strong storm expected to hit parts of southeast Mississippi are “gusty winds and hail.”
Strong winds also hit parts of Florida Friday morning, with the south coast near Tallahassee experiencing gusts of up to 110 mph, the weather service reported.
Further south, temperatures hit record highs earlier this week. Key West’s heat index was 115 degrees Wednesday, tying an all-time record for the region, according to AccuWeather.
On the same day, the temperature in Miami reached 96 degrees, just two degrees below the highest temperature this month. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that the city’s heat index could reach “triple digits” into the weekend.
Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA TODAY. Email us at cmayesosterman@usatoday.com. X Follow her at @CybeleMO.
