Texas can't catch a break as new storm kills teen, uproots trees and rips off roofs

Tuesday's severe weather, which left more than a million customers without power, is a continuation of deadly storms, some of which spawned tornadoes, across the United States over the Memorial long weekend Day, which killed 24 people in seven states.

The flooding and damage in Houston came just weeks after the region was hit by a weather event known as a derecho – a widespread, long-lasting windstorm associated with a band of showers or thunderstorms moving quickly. This storm killed eight people and cut power to hundreds of thousands of customers.

“Many people are without electricity again. We just came through the derecho a few weeks ago, which was extremely devastating and many are still trying to recover from it,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the county’s top elected official. from Houston, in a video posted on social networks. late Tuesday

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell was scheduled to visit Arkansas on Wednesday, where seven people died in weekend storms, as the Biden administration continues to assess the damage caused by tornadoes.

The risk of heavy rain, localized flash flooding and severe weather will continue Wednesday in Oklahoma and Texas. Thunderstorms are expected Wednesday and Thursday across eastern Montana, Wyoming and northeastern Colorado before moving into Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and northern Texas.

Tuesday's power outages in the Dallas metro area prompted officials to extend polling places by two hours in the runoff elections after dozens of polling places lost power.

The city opened respite centers, where residents could seek shelter and air conditioning after wind gusts reaching 80 mph caused significant damage to homes. Local media images showed several houses without roofs, some of which were damaged by trees being torn from the ground by the winds. City crews planned to work around the clock this week to clear downed trees, a notice posted on the city's website said.

Social media posts showed winds pushing an American Airlines plane away from a gate at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

The airline said in a statement that the severe weather affected several parked and unoccupied planes. No one was hurt.

“Our maintenance team is currently conducting thorough inspections and will make any necessary repairs,” the release said.

The airport said in an email to The Associated Press that about 500 flights were canceled due to the weather conditions. Nearly 200 other flights were canceled at Dallas Love Field Airport, according to the website FlightAware.

Cars crawled across flooded highways and more than 300,000 customers were without power in the Houston area, parts of which are still recovering from the hurricane's high winds earlier this month.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that a 16-year-old boy was killed when a house under construction began moving and then collapsed during a thunderstorm in suburban Magnolia from Houston. The teen was confirmed to be an employee of the construction company and was authorized to be on the site, the release said.

Magnolia Fire Division Chief Jason Herrman said it was one of three homes under construction that collapsed.

There doesn't seem to be much relief in sight.

The National Weather Service said the “very active and high impact” weather pattern would continue across the central United States over the next few days.

Destructive weekend storms caused deaths in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia. Meanwhile, in the Midwest, an unusual weather phenomenon called a “gustnado” that resembles a small tornado caused some dramatic moments at a West Michigan lake over the weekend.