Oncor estimates storm-induced power outages in North Texas will largely be restored by Friday

More than 290,000 North Texans remained without power Wednesday morning as Oncor officials announced they expect a significant portion of the outages to be restored by the weekend.

As of Wednesday morning, 292,000 people were without power across the region, according to an Oncor outage map. Dallas County residents accounted for about 199,000 of them. Additionally, more than 300 traffic lights remained out and another 122 were on as of Tuesday evening, according to a news release from city officials.

Oncor officials said they estimate power restoration will be “substantially complete” by Friday night, with the “hardest-hit” areas expected to be restored by Saturday.

“We recognize the difficulties and inconvenience customers experience following severe storms like this and remain focused on restoring power as quickly and safely as possible,” officials wrote in a news release.

Oncor spokesman Grant Cruise previously said some of the extended outages were due to downed power lines that will require a complete reconstruction rather than simple repairs. Oncor requested assistance from other utility agencies in Texas and eight other states to repair the lines as quickly as possible.

Oncor said crews restored power to more than 340,000 people in less than 24 hours.

As officials work to make more progress, the National Weather Service in Fort Worth said scattered showers and storms will move in from the west late Wednesday morning and last into early afternoon. There will be a brief respite, the agency said, before more rain develops over Central Texas and expands into North Texas in the evening.

“Some strong to severe storms with large hail and very gusty winds cannot be ruled out,” the weather service said, adding that significant rainfall and areas of flooding can be expected.

Another widespread chance for storms will return to North and Central Texas Thursday afternoon and evening, the weather service said, again with the risk of strong wind gusts, large hail and flooding.

The series of storms comes days after a tornado ripped through North Texas, killing seven people and injuring more than 100 people in Valley View, a city about 60 miles northwest of Dallas.

Here’s the latest weather forecast from KXAS-TV (NBC5):

WEDNESDAY: Partly to mostly cloudy and warm with a 40% chance of a thunderstorm. Low: 69. High: 85. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.

THURSDAY: Partly to mostly cloudy and warm with a 40% chance of a thunderstorm. Low: 70. High: 85. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.

FRIDAY: Partly to mostly cloudy and warm with a 40% chance of a thunderstorm. Low: 72. High: 85. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.

SATURDAY: Partly to mostly cloudy and warm with a 30% chance of a thunderstorm. Low: 72. High: 87. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.