Severe weather hit Houston and parts of southeastern Texas hard last Thursday, May 2, 2019, prompting school shutdowns in the flood-prone city.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said most areas saw up to 3 inches of rain late Thursday, with some places getting up to 10 inches of rain.
Hail the size of baseballs and even larger was also reported across the region. Multiple people posted online images of the damage these hail stones made on their property, mostly homes and vehicles.
Blurry but a Shattered Windshield on our way home from Astros game from baseball sized hail! @abc13houston @abc13weather pic.twitter.com/FIenz2TRB4
— Kaitlyn Freeman (@katie_krfp) May 10, 2019
Due to the hail, Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport issued a ground stop until after midnight (CDT) Friday, causing inbound flights to either be held or diverted.
Emergency responders performed dozens of water rescues as vehicles became trapped in flood waters. According to the Houston Fire Department, more than 75 water-related calls were reported on Thursday night.
Over 175,000 people had no electricity at some point across Texas on Thursday night, with most of the cases occurring within the area of the thunderstorms from San Antonio to Houston.
The bad weather came in just after multiple days of severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall went through the region over the past couple of weeks. A complex of storms is still hovering over the Texas coastline and Louisiana, and more flooding is expected as waterways exceed their levels and overflow their banks.
Being a flood-prone city, if you’re in Houston or travelling to the area and must drive, make sure your vehicle is equipped with the essentials and have your go-bag within reach so you’re prepared in case of emergency evacuations.