The National Weather Service has extended the tornado watch across southeast Texas to 1 a.m., Nov 25, as a second wave of potentially severe weather moved across the Greater Houston area.
What's happening?
The extension of the tornado watch came as a second wave of severe storms moved through the Houston region after earlier storms caused one confirmed tornado, according to the NWS.
CenterPoint Energy was working to restore power to the northern Harris County area as of 7:17 p.m. Nov. 24, with 7,284 customer outages reported via the company's outage tracker. However, ongoing power outages were also affecting traffic lights throughout northwest Harris County, with the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office urging caution for late-night and early-morning drivers, according to social media posts.
Work to clear debris was also ongoing through the Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner's Office, according to updates posted via Facebook.
"Precinct 3 crews are working hard throughout the evening to clear debris from the roads in areas impacted by today’s tornado. As night falls, please heed caution and remember to please stay clear and: Do not drive around road closures. Do not walk around debris sites. Avoid placing yard debris in roadways," Precinct 3 officials said.
Stay tuned
As the second wave of storms moves across the Greater Houston area, residents were encouraged to remain aware and keep emergency phone alerts on if possible.
Posted 4:59 p.m., Nov. 24
Following a line of severe thunderstorms that moved across the northern portion of the Greater Houston area Nov. 24, emergency crews are working to assess and clear damage in affected areas.
What we know
According to the National Weather Service, several tornado watches and warnings were issued across the region due to at least one confirmed tornado, which impacted the Jersey Village, Spring and Klein areas.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our community,” Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said in a news release. “Our deputies are out in full force assisting those in need.”
Herman said via Facebook that over 100 homes were damaged due to the weather, and the constable’s office is deploying drones to conduct aerial assessments and locate injured residents.
Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey has also deployed trucks to clear debris and roadways following the storm and suspected tornado damage, according to a social media post from Ramsey’s office.
According to CenterPoint Energy’s outage tracker, there are 11,486 residents primarily in northern Harris County without power as of 3:40 p.m., Nov. 24.
“With reports of one tornado touchdown north of the Jersey Village area, we're closely monitoring the weather as conditions continue to evolve," said Lena Dziechowski, CenterPoint Energy's lead meteorology specialist, in a Nov. 24 news release. “An additional line of storms is expected late this evening with the potential for isolated strong wind gusts and lightning. Our teams are responding to each outage as safely and quickly as possible.”
The impact
Multiple officials have confirmed structural damage in residential and commercial areas, such as along Louetta Road in Spring.
Harris County Emergency Services District No. 11 officials announced that the administrative campus and maintenance building sustained structural damage, with part of the maintenance building collapsing.
“Our Administrative Campus did sustain damage in the tornado that came through Klein today. All staff is accounted for and safe,” ESD 11 officials said in a Facebook post. “The incident will not affect normal operations, rest assured we are still answering and responding to your calls for emergency service.”
What’s next?
For fallen trees and debris along roadways, residents are asked to report it to Harris County Precinct 3 at 713-274-3100, or by submitting a report at www.pct3.com/service-request.
City of Houston officials also encouraged residents who sustained damage as a result of the storms to file a report through the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s iSTAT reporting tool. This tool is used by local municipalities to gauge the severity and breadth of damage following a natural disaster.
Stay tuned
A tornado watch is in effect for the Greater Houston area until 7 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
