Hundreds of thousands of Texans endured extreme heat and humidity on Sunday as utility workers worked tirelessly to restore power three days after a derecho and several tornadoes hit the Houston area, resulting in seven deaths.
The heat index in the Houston region is expected to rise daily through midweek, reaching the triple digits by Tuesday and Wednesday. CenterPoint Energy, the area’s largest electricity provider, estimated that 80% of its 2.6 million customers would have power restored by Sunday night.
Meanwhile, over 9 million people faced a slight to moderate risk of severe weather on Sunday afternoon and evening, with the National Weather Service warning of another potential high wind derecho event in central Kansas. The risk extended from Oklahoma northward into South Dakota, across western Nebraska, and into northwest Missouri.
The weather service had forecasted 80 to 100 mph destructive winds, large hail, and a few tornadoes, all of which materialized through the evening. A tornado was confirmed Sunday afternoon southwest of Russell, Kansas, approximately 148 miles northwest of Wichita.
Additionally, the weather service reported 2-inch hail and 70 mph winds in parts of central Kansas.
“The storms in Newton and Sedgwick counties have produced structural damage, downed power lines, and overturned semis,” the weather service in Wichita said on X. “80-90 mph winds have been observed! Seek shelter now in southern Marion, southern Chase, and northern Butler Counties!”
Severe weather also posed a slight risk along the Southeast Florida coast from north of Cape Canaveral to Miami. A heat advisory was in effect for South Florida on Sunday, with a heat index of 106 to 110 possible in Miami and the Florida Keys.
The weather service warned that “intense summer-like heat” would continue across the Central U.S. from southern Texas into the southern High Plains on Monday and Tuesday, with potentially record-breaking temperatures soaring into the triple digits.
Severe Weather Updates on Sunday:
- Storms were already being reported in Nebraska before noon Central Time on Sunday. Red Willow County received 3.05 inches and 2.89 inches of rain by 10:15 a.m., according to the weather service. Normal May rainfall for nearby North Platte is 3.2 inches.
- In Kansas, the weather service indicated the most severe storms would impact central and northeast Kansas, with winds exceeding 80 mph expected to hit after 7 p.m. local time, moving into Missouri shortly after midnight.
- In Ellis, Kansas, around 2:25 p.m. local time, 2-3 inch hail was reported, prompting a severe thunderstorm warning.
- In Oklahoma, a tornado emergency was declared near Custer City, about 90 miles west of Oklahoma City, at 7:40 p.m., with the weather service urging residents to “(t)ake cover now!” The alert was later canceled before 8 p.m., though a tornado warning remained in effect.
- By midnight Eastern Time, preliminary reports indicated up to eight tornadoes, with three each in Kansas and Oklahoma and two in Colorado.
- Winds of 60 to 80 mph were reported across a wide swath of Oklahoma and Kansas, with the highest gust of 86 mph recorded at Hutchinson Airport in Reno, Kansas.
According to PowerOutage.US, as of midnight Eastern Time, there were 44,578 power outages in Kansas and 7,595 in Oklahoma. The total in Texas had decreased to an estimated 237,593.
Houston Storm Toppled High Voltage Towers:
The derecho storm that struck Texas on Thursday evening toppled high voltage towers and trees, knocking out power lines throughout the region and causing an estimated $5 billion or more in damage.
Houston officials posted on X Sunday morning that they would determine “if Houstonians can safely return to work downtown or should work from home Monday.” Alongside restoring electricity, the city’s priorities included providing ice, water, and cooling centers for affected residents.
CenterPoint Energy reported on Saturday night that over 2,000 employees and 5,000 contractors were working in the region, expecting storm-related restorations to be “substantially completed” by Wednesday evening. The company prioritized key public safety facilities such as hospitals, police and fire departments, and water treatment plants, restoring power to about 60% of outages—over 550,000 customers—in the first 48 hours after the storm.
“We made progress overnight but there is still more work to be done,” the company posted on X on Sunday morning. “Crews—including mutual assistance support—are rolling out across the city to continue restoring power to the remaining impacted customers.”
Electricity also remained out for about 3,800 customers in western Louisiana, which was also affected by Thursday’s storms.
In addition to the powerful straight-line winds that hit Southeast Texas, the weather service confirmed at least two tornadoes: an EF-1 with winds up to 100 mph near Pine Island, Texas, and another EF-1 near Cypress, Texas, in Harris County, with peak winds of 110 mph.
What is a Derecho?
A derecho is a widespread wind storm associated with bands of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms, known as bow echoes and squall lines. A derecho can cause damage similar to a tornado, but the destruction typically occurs in one direction along a relatively straight path, referred to as “straight line wind damage,” according to the weather service’s Storm Prediction Center.
By definition, derecho wind damage extends at least 400 miles and is at least 60 miles wide, with gusts exceeding 58 mph along most of its length and pockets of winds higher than 75 mph.
The term “derecho” was first used by Gustavus Hinrichs, a physics professor at the University of Iowa, to differentiate these wind storms from tornadoes, the Storm Prediction Center explained.
Houston has experienced at least two previous derechos in May. On May 4-5, 1989, a derecho swept over the Dallas-Fort Worth area, moved southward over central Texas, and into southwestern Louisiana, damaging or destroying over 100 mobile homes and toppling utility poles. On May 17, 1986, a derecho hit Texas from Temple southward to the coast, from south of Galveston to Beaumont, proving deadly for pleasure boaters on several lakes and on Galveston Bay, capsizing hundreds of boats and resulting in 140 rescues and at least six deaths.
