Storm-weary Texas hit again, 450,000 people without power: weather updates

Storm-weary Texans braced for more brutal weather Wednesday as they mopped up the latest round of torrential rain and hurricane-force wind gusts that left more than 1 million homes and businesses without power.

At least one person died when a building under construction collapsed near Houston. The Dallas area was inundated by localized flooding caused by storms that hit much of the Southern Plains, an area already recovering from weeks of bad weather.

“Thunderstorms over central Texas will gradually taper off this morning, while additional storms will arrive from the west,” the National Weather Service said in an advisory Wednesday. “Some strong to severe storms are possible.”

The advisory added that multiple rounds of thunderstorms were expected Thursday through Friday, some of which “may be severe and contain heavy rainfall.”

Wind gusts of more than 70 mph were recorded in Dallas and Houston. Dallas County officials issued a disaster declaration Tuesday, warning of “a multi-day power outage for a significant number” of residents.

The latest storms were hitting the state just days after Memorial Day weekend brought deadly weather to the region, killing nearly two dozen people. At least seven deaths were reported in Texas, where the misery began two weeks ago when strong winds and flooding hit the Houston area, killing nine people and leaving some area residents without power for more than a week.

Developments:

∎ Power was being restored in Texas, but nearly 450,000 power customers were still in the dark Wednesday morning.

∎ Another 70,000 electricity customers remained without power in Kentucky, Arkansas, Virginia and Missouri.

Dallas disrupted by storm

In the Dallas area, power outages led election officials to extend voting hours for the state runoff elections. Northeast of Dallas, the First United Methodist Church of Royse City was destroyed in a fire that firefighters tentatively attributed to lightning struck by the storm.

Amanda Murski’s Range Rover was crushed in her daughter’s driveway in Dallas, buried by a giant tree uprooted by straight-line winds.

“It was unbelievable that the winds were so strong,” Murski told Fox4news.com. “It’s just a vehicle. It’s okay.”

More counties added to Texas disaster list

Federal emergency management officials approved Gov. Greg Abbott’s request to add Collin, Cooke, Denton and Montague counties to the list of more than a dozen Texas counties already approved for disaster declaration. The declaration allows FEMA to provide funds for temporary housing, emergency home repairs, property losses, disaster legal services, and medical and funeral expenses caused by the disaster.

Here’s why storm season seems so busy

With at least 850 confirmed tornadoes so far and several major tornado outbreaks, 2024 is among the busiest years on record. Even some of the most veteran storm chasers have been amazed by the tornado activity so far this year. The United States has already seen four days with at least 30 EF1 or stronger tornadoes, said Harold Brooks, senior scientist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma. The average is two a year.

Meteorologists interviewed by USA TODAY blame an active jet stream, along with a series of powerful storms moving from the West Coast through the midsection of the country. It has been “a great recipe for numerous severe storms and tornadoes” in recent weeks, said meteorologist Peter Mullinax of the Weather Prediction Center. Read more here.

− Elizabeth Weise, Dinah Voyles Pulver and Doyle Rice

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