News Summary
Texas experienced significant power outages early Tuesday due to severe storms that impacted the region over Memorial Day weekend. Nearly 200,000 customers were reported without power, primarily in eastern counties. Trinity County faced the worst with over 3,700 outages. The storms included heavy rain, high winds, and the potential for tornadoes, prompting the National Weather Service to issue flood watches. As the week progresses, continued severe weather is expected across Central and South Texas, with residents advised to stay prepared for changing conditions.
Texas faced widespread power outages early Tuesday, following severe storms that swept through the region on Memorial Day. Nearly 200,000 electric customers were reported without power, according to officials. The storms were characterized by high wind gusts, heavy rain, and the potential for tornadoes.
Trinity County was hit the hardest, with more than 3,700 customers, or approximately 33.2 percent of tracked customers, experiencing outages. Houston County also saw significant disruptions, with just over 3,300 customers left powerless, translating to about 21 percent of the total tracked customers. Newton County followed suit, reporting outages affecting over 20 percent of its tracked customers. Montgomery County reported over 38,000 outages, with a total of 377,397 customers monitored in that area.
In total, 197,764 customers across eastern Texas were reported to be without power due to the severe weather. CenterPoint Energy, one of the primary utility providers, reported the most extensive outages, accounting for 120,378 customers without power at 3:43 a.m. local time.
The National Weather Service (NWS) reacted by issuing flood watches and flash flood warnings across affected regions. Severe thunderstorms were anticipated to affect portions of the Southern Plains, Mid-South, and Tennessee Valley throughout Memorial Day weekend, raising concerns for large hail, severe wind gusts, and tornado activity.
Over 30 Texas counties, including major urban areas like Houston and Austin, were under a severe thunderstorm watch until 5 a.m. on Tuesday. The NWS warned residents that wind gusts could reach up to 58 miles per hour, raising the risk for wind damage in susceptible areas.
Initially, the Memorial Day weekend saw limited rainfall and mild weather. However, conditions shifted rapidly with the onset of thunderstorms, resulting in multiple tornado watches being implemented until 10 p.m. on May 26 for much of Central Texas. In particular, Mason County was among those under tornado warnings.
One noteworthy incident involved a significant hailstorm that occurred near Fredericksburg, where numerous local residents submitted photos and videos capturing the event.
As the week progresses, the forecast predicts continued scattered severe thunderstorms throughout parts of Texas for the next three to four days. By Tuesday, storm chances were expected to increase significantly across Central and South Texas, with cities like San Antonio facing probabilities of severe weather ranging from 50 to 60 percent.
Overall, while temperatures are set to average in the low 90s, a slight decline is expected as the week unfolds, providing some respite from the preceding heat wave. Residents are urged to remain vigilant and prepared for changing weather conditions as the storms continue to impact the area.
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Additional Resources
- Newsweek
- Wikipedia: Power Outage
- Fox 7 Austin
- Google Search: Texas Severe Weather
- Express News
- Google Scholar: Texas Weather Patterns
- KHOU
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Texas Climate
- Fox 4 News
- Google News: Texas Storms
