Storms of My Grandchildren? ...At Least 4 Dead in Houston as Destructive Storms Lash Texas and Louisiana With Strong Winds and Flood Threatshttps://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/05/16/weather/south-flooding-texas-louisiana-climatehttps://weather.com/news/weather/news/2024-05-16-houston-severe-weather-tornado-rain
At least four people are dead in Houston after hurricane-force winds and torrential rains tore a damaging path through the city Thursday – part of a lashing storm system that is bringing life-threatening flooding and power outages to parts of the South.
Severe storms carved through parts of Texas Thursday before pushing into western Louisiana through Friday’s early hours, prompting an overnight flash flood warning for New Orleans.
... Violent storms in Houston blew out skyscraper windows, partially collapsed a nightclub and ripped a strip of roofing off the downtown Hyatt Regency, showering the hotel lobby with rain and debris, according to witness video.
"Widespread debris, glass and electrical lines are in the streets," the NWS warned.https://x.com/NWSHouston/status/1791301992167723191All non-essential workers are urged to stay home tomorrow and city schools are closed as widespread power outages have darkened the city and disabled traffic lights, Mayor John Whitmire said. Streets are littered with debris, downed trees and power lines, and the downtown area is dusted with glass from broken windows, he added.
Winds in the city were reported as high as 71 mph, according to the weather service.
On the east side of the city, there were reports of winds up to 78 mph – equivalent to the strength of a Category 1 hurricane.
The weather service also reported straight-line winds of up to 100 mph (161 kph) in downtown Houston and the suburbs of Baytown and Galena Park.
There were wind gusts of 84 mph (135 kph) at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and 82 mph (132 kph) at New Orleans Lakefront Airport, according to Tim Erickson, a meteorologist at the weather service’s office for New Orleans and Baton Rouge
... Power outages left more than 1,000,000 homes and businesses in the dark across Texas as of Thursday night. More than 200,000 are also without power in Louisiana as storms batter the state.
Possible tornadoes posed a risk in Texas and Louisiana, and carried the threat of destructive winds and golf ball-sized hail. A reported tornado in Convent, Louisiana, downed trees and power poles late Thursday, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Parts of Texas and western Louisiana are under a rare Level 4 of 4 high risk of excessive rainfall Thursday, the Weather Prediction Center said. More than 600,000 people live in the high-risk zone.
... Widespread rainfall totals of 2 to 6 inches are expected from Texas to Georgia through Saturday morning. A few spots caught under multiple torrential storms may pick up 8 inches or more of rain. It’s not out of the question that one or two spots could record close to a foot of rain in about 48 hours.
Texas and Louisiana have been in the bull’s-eye of seemingly unrelenting rounds of torrential, flooding downpours since the start of April.
Rainfall in the waterlogged area over the last two weeks is over 600% of what’s typical, according to the WPC.
The weather service also issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Houston with the highest-level “destructive” tag.Double-digit rainfall totals between 20 and 30 inches over the region in recent weeks have soaked the ground and left rivers swollen, priming the flood threat to extreme levels.
Drenched soils are not expected to soak up any of Thursday’s rainfall, the WPC warned Thursday morning. Widespread flash flooding could begin minutes after heavy rain starts to fall.
It’s a sign the atmosphere is primed to unload extreme amounts of rain, a phenomenon that is becoming more frequent in a warming world driven by human-caused climate change.--------------------------------------------------------
Harris County residents ‘may have to go a couple of weeks without power’ after severe weather rips through SE Texashttps://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/05/17/harris-county-judge-lina-hidalgo-provides-latest-updates-on-deadly-severe-weather-that-ripped-through-se-texas/While daylight revealed just how intense the storms were, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor John Whitmire both addressed community members Friday morning.
Hidalgo said its been a long two weeks for the Houston area and this is the second storm that has battered the area within those weeks. Local officials expected some rain but instead experienced 85 mph to 100 mph wind damage.
The county judge compared Thursday’s weather scenario to Hurricane Alicia in 1983.
There has been four weather-related casualties, damaged roads, flipped 18-wheelers, structural fires, downed trees and power lines. Recovery efforts are underway as crews work to clear freeways and roadways.
Mayor Whitmire said at least 2,500 traffic lights are not functioning and crews are also working to fix.
The county judge says residents “may have to go a couple of weeks without power” who are tied to the 10 transmission lines that fell during the storm. Seven out of the 10 damaged transmissions are in Harris County.
