At least one person was reported killed, and more than 600,000 customers in Texas, USA, were without power as of Tuesday night (May 28) due to powerful storms. CNN reports that on Tuesday, storms unleashed hurricane-force wind gusts across the Dallas area before moving to Houston in the afternoon.
A wind gust of 75 mph was recorded at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Approximately 40 miles northwest of Houston, in the Magnolia subdivision, a house under construction collapsed, resulting in the death of a “juvenile male,” according to the Magnolia Fire Department.
Firefighters removed the victim from a debris pile, and he was pronounced dead. Magnolia Fire Department Division Chief Jason Herrman confirmed to CNN that the collapse was caused by a thunderstorm with significant winds.
Meanwhile, in north Dallas, multiple cars were stranded in flooded roadways amid frequent lightning. Elsewhere, powerful winds uprooted trees, toppled them onto homes, and knocked down neighbourhood fences, leaving communities in chaos.
Power outages began early Tuesday morning in Dallas and spread south as the storms advanced across the state. According to PowerOutage.us, hundreds of thousands of outages occurred in Dallas County. Officials issued a disaster declaration and warned that power could be out for days.
This is Texas’s second major instance of critical power infrastructure damage in less than two weeks.
These storms have compounded the grief of residents still mourning at least seven people killed during violent storms over Memorial Day weekend. In total, at least 24 people, including four children, were killed across six states as storms swept through the central US during the holiday period, devastating homes and businesses.
On Tuesday, parts of Texas and western Louisiana faced the most severe weather threats, including large hail, lightning, and wind gusts up to 80 mph. A few tornadoes were also possible, according to the National Weather Service.
Severe weather led to significant disruptions in air travel. According to FlightAware, over 600 flights at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport were cancelled, and more than 900 flights were delayed. In Houston, more than 75 flights were cancelled, and over 530 were delayed at William P. Hobby Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
It could take days to fully restore power in the Dallas-Fort Worth area after the violent storms on Tuesday morning caused hurricane-force wind gusts.
Note that in mid-May 2024, a derecho and tornado struck the Houston metro area, blasting 100 mph wind gusts, killing multiple people, and causing prolonged power outages.