Severe Storms Pound Houston
POSTED: Wednesday, March 14, 2007
UPDATED: 6:39 pm CDT March 14,
2007
HOUSTON -- Severe storms packing high winds and hail slammed into the Houston area Wednesday, KPRC Local 2 reported.
Severe Weather Watches, Warnings
Severe Weather Floods Streets, Damages Planes
Storms Leave Behind Damage, High Water
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"I got a lot of reports of hail -- pea-sized, marble-sized -- from Sugar Land to Tomball out toward Pasadena, Hobby Airport, League City -- dime-sized hail is being reported there," KPRC Local 2 chief meteorologist Frank Billingsley said.Billingsley said the monster system dumped 1-2 inches per hour as it moved through."When we get that (amount of rain), that's when we get flood potential," he said. "This system moves pretty quickly -- east at about 30 mph. Most of it should be out of the area by 6 o'clock."High winds were also a danger. The National Weather Service said 40 to 60 mph winds accompanied the storm."Behind it, there's still rain, but nothing like we've seen with this. There are still showers back here as the line continues to move through as far as rain is concerned," Billingsley said.Hobby and Bush Intercontinental airports were in the path of the storm Wednesday afternoon, so travelers were advised to check with their airlines. All flights at Hobby were grounded as of 4 p.m. and delays were reported from 70 minutes up to three hours at both airports.Flights resumed by 6 p.m., but delays remained.Viewers said the sky turned black and winds were fierce as the storm moved across their areas."It was coming down in torrents. People couldn't even see the house across the street -- the rain is so heavy," Billingsley said. "The National Weather Service has not issued a warning on this but said to watch out for the possibility of straight-line winds and pea-sized hail and very heavy rain as this moves through. It doesn't quite meet the parameters for severe, but it certainly meets the parameters for very strong weather."The strong storms flooded parts of Houston, including the Southwest Freeway along the Greenbriar and Shepherd area, where 2 to 3 feet of water covered the roadway, stranding motorists for more than 90 minutes at 4 p.m.The westbound lanes of the Katy Freeway at Washington were shut down at 6 p.m. because of high water.A tow truck had to pull out an ambulance that got stranded in floodwater on Buffalo Speedway in southwest Houston.High winds damaged several small planes at the West Houston Airport.A severe cell moved through Wharton, Fort Bend, Brazoria and southern Harris counties, dropping hail and packing dangerous winds on Wednesday morning.A southeast Houston home was struck by lightning shortly after 5 a.m."When I heard the noise I knew exactly what it was," homeowner Meg Clemens said. "We had been struck by lightning. I went immediately into mother role."At the height of the storm, electricity was knocked out to 18,000 customers."Thursday is going to be a much different day," Billingsley said. "We see clearing skies as we get to 6 o'clock (Thursday) morning with a lot of sunshine by 9 a.m. We'll have rain through the afternoon and into the evening. But we do go party cloudy as time continues -- a warm and sunny Thursday with a high of 80 degrees." More Weather:
Copyright 2007 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Severe Weather Watches, Warnings
Severe Weather Floods Streets, Damages PlanesStorms Leave Behind Damage, High WaterRadar Loop | Texas Radar Loop
"I got a lot of reports of hail -- pea-sized, marble-sized -- from Sugar Land to Tomball out toward Pasadena, Hobby Airport, League City -- dime-sized hail is being reported there," KPRC Local 2 chief meteorologist Frank Billingsley said.Billingsley said the monster system dumped 1-2 inches per hour as it moved through."When we get that (amount of rain), that's when we get flood potential," he said. "This system moves pretty quickly -- east at about 30 mph. Most of it should be out of the area by 6 o'clock."High winds were also a danger. The National Weather Service said 40 to 60 mph winds accompanied the storm."Behind it, there's still rain, but nothing like we've seen with this. There are still showers back here as the line continues to move through as far as rain is concerned," Billingsley said.Hobby and Bush Intercontinental airports were in the path of the storm Wednesday afternoon, so travelers were advised to check with their airlines. All flights at Hobby were grounded as of 4 p.m. and delays were reported from 70 minutes up to three hours at both airports.Flights resumed by 6 p.m., but delays remained.Viewers said the sky turned black and winds were fierce as the storm moved across their areas."It was coming down in torrents. People couldn't even see the house across the street -- the rain is so heavy," Billingsley said. "The National Weather Service has not issued a warning on this but said to watch out for the possibility of straight-line winds and pea-sized hail and very heavy rain as this moves through. It doesn't quite meet the parameters for severe, but it certainly meets the parameters for very strong weather."The strong storms flooded parts of Houston, including the Southwest Freeway along the Greenbriar and Shepherd area, where 2 to 3 feet of water covered the roadway, stranding motorists for more than 90 minutes at 4 p.m.The westbound lanes of the Katy Freeway at Washington were shut down at 6 p.m. because of high water.A tow truck had to pull out an ambulance that got stranded in floodwater on Buffalo Speedway in southwest Houston.High winds damaged several small planes at the West Houston Airport.A severe cell moved through Wharton, Fort Bend, Brazoria and southern Harris counties, dropping hail and packing dangerous winds on Wednesday morning.A southeast Houston home was struck by lightning shortly after 5 a.m."When I heard the noise I knew exactly what it was," homeowner Meg Clemens said. "We had been struck by lightning. I went immediately into mother role."At the height of the storm, electricity was knocked out to 18,000 customers."Thursday is going to be a much different day," Billingsley said. "We see clearing skies as we get to 6 o'clock (Thursday) morning with a lot of sunshine by 9 a.m. We'll have rain through the afternoon and into the evening. But we do go party cloudy as time continues -- a warm and sunny Thursday with a high of 80 degrees." More Weather:
- Weather Section Texas Radar Loop Doppler 2000 Plus Radar 7-Day Forecast National Weather Alert Map River Levels Severe Weather Alerts Monitor Approaching Storms With Premium Weather
- Houston TranStar Real-Time Traffic Map Traffic Section Houston Transtar Texas Dept. of Transportation Web site or call (800) 452-9292 Harris County Office of Emergency Management Web site
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport Hobby Airport Check For Flight Delays AirTran Airways American Airlines ATA Airlines Continental Airlines Delta Airlines Frontier Airlines JetBlue Northwest Airlines Southwest Airlines United Airlines U.S. Airways
Copyright 2007 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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