The owners of a popular Houston area Cajun restaurant are picking up the pieces after Thursday’s derecho blasted the region with winds estimated at 90-100 mph.
The Krab Junkie was full of customers when the storm rolled through at dinner time, and Pat and Marilyn Williams told of having to scramble to get their customers and staff to safety as wind-whipped debris swirled outside the building.
"The first thing we noticed, was the skies got really, really dark," Pat Williams told FOX Weather. "It was, you know, darkness that we probably hadn't seen before. And, and, you know, we had customers sitting outside at a restaurant, went out to power on some lights on the outside seating. And, I mean, it was like a few moments later, this thing came so quickly that we didn't really have a chance to make any moves."
Wind damage at Houston's Krab Junkie restaurant after a derecho blasted the city with 90-100 mph wind on May 16, 2024.
(Pat & Marilyn Williams, Krab Junkie / FOX Weather)
Marilyn Williams said it was quick because all of a sudden, they started seeing debris flying by the window. She said Pat corralled the customers into the lobby while she got the staff into the freezer.
"We got the notification saying the tornado is in your area. Take cover now," Marilyn Williams said. "So I tried to get some of the people, and we tried to run to the freezer, to hide in there. And before you know it, it was just all we heard was the wind blowing and the door flew open, and it was… it was horrible."
Tornado Warnings were issued for Houston, but meteorologists with the National Weather Service later determined the damaging winds in the city were instead powered by an intense line of thunderstorms known as a derecho. Gusts likely reached 90 mph, NWS Houston meteorologists said.
"I’m from Houston, born and raised in Houston. My whole life, I've never experienced a tornado," Pat Williams said. "Now I have experienced, I think, the worst storm was Hurricane Alicia… and this could have been even worse than Hurricane Alicia. But, other than that, you know, we've lived through storms, but nothing to this magnitude. This was different."
After the storm passed, the Williams ventured out to look at the damage, which was extensive. Photos they shared from the moments after the storm showed trees toppled into part of the outdoor seating area, with tables and chairs knocked over, branches littering the ground, and what appears to be a trampoline wrapped around a pole just outside the front. Marilyn says a tree fell across part of their building.
Wind damage at Houston's Krab Junkie restaurant after a derecho blasted the city with 90-100 mph wind on May 16, 2024.
(FOX Weather)
"We started trying to clean, you know, pick up some things, you know? I mean, it's a lot of damage," Pat Williams said. "We don't even know the extent of the damage that we have, as far as numbers. A lot of things are damaged, I can tell you that. It's really bad. It is a really bad situation for us."
Over 500,000 people remain without power in Houston as of Saturday morning. Officials said seven people were killed in the storm.
Some Houston residents who lost power during Thursday’s blistering severe wind event are now facing the daunting possibility of being without power and air conditioning for days or even weeks as temperatures heat back up.
The severe weather raked the Houston area with estimated gusts of 90-100 mph. Over 1 million electrical customers were without power in Texas during the peak of the storms — some 900,000 of them in Harris County, home to much of the Houston metro area.
While CenterPoint Energy says they have restored power to hundreds of thousands of customers by Friday, over 500,000 remain in the dark around Houston Saturday morning, including more than a quarter of Harris County, according to PowerOutage.US,
(FOX Weather)
For some, it could be weeks before power is restored as 10 energy transmission lines are down, according to Harris County Executive Judge Lina Hidalgo.
CYPRESS, TEXAS - MAY 16: Transmission power lines are down near the Grand Parkway and West Road after a storm Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Cypress, Texas.
(Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle / Getty Images)
"If you are tied into the transmission lines that fell… just like in (Hurricane) Ike, you are going to have to go a couple of weeks, most likely, without power," Hidalgo said.
Paul Lock with Centerpoint Energy said it would take another day to fully assess the damage. They have 4,000 extra helpers coming in from other areas to help. "But we are looking at a multiday event," Lock said. "If you depend on life-saving equipment, you need to make plans now to find another place to stay."
(FOX Weather)
Another danger is the increasing heat as tens to hundreds of thousands lose access to air conditioning.
With the lingering clouds and storms, high temperatures Friday stayed in the mid-70s. But highs on Saturday and Sunday are climbing back into the low 90s around Houston. With typical humid Gulf air in place, heat index readings are expected to reach the mid-90s this weekend, climbing to around 100 next week.
(FOX Weather)
Hidalgo said 15 Harris County libraries will be open during the days for air conditioning and power.
"The next few days are going to be hard. The next few weeks are going to be hard for some folks in our community," Hidalgo said. "They're going to be uncomfortable. But we've been through this."
A line of severe thunderstorms swept through southeastern Texas and Louisiana on Thursday, blasting the Houston area with incredible winds reaching up to 100 mph that left at least seven dead - including a mother of a newborn - and more than 1 million power customers without electricity.
The extreme wind gusts blew out windows of high-rise buildings and caused transmission towers holding power lines to crumble.
The National Weather Service in Houston called the event a derecho, which produces destructive winds over hundreds of miles and impacts millions of people.
PowerOutage.us reported that more than 800,000 people in the Houston metro area lost power, but with nearby counties also dealing with outages, the state’s tally climbed to well over 1 million customers at the storm's peak. More than a half million were still without power in Houston as of early Saturday morning.
(FOX Weather)
NWS storm survey teams said much of the damage across much of the Houston area was straight-line winds from extreme thunderstorm downdrafts, though one EF-1 tornado was confirmed near Cypress.
The strongest gust recorded by a wind gauge was 78 mph in the Highlands neighborhood, but based on the extent of damage, survey teams estimated thunderstorm gusts reached 90-100 mph in Baytown, while Downtown Houston had "significant" straight-line winds peaking at 100 mph.
"It was kind of crazy — I was up in my bedroom and all of a sudden my alarm started going off: ‘Tornado Warning! Tornado Warning! Take shelter,’ " Juan Alcala, who was visiting Houston from Austin, told FOX Weather. "All of a sudden everything just turns dark, and you could see outside the wind started coming in, and the rain — it was just dark."
President Joe Biden declared seven counties as a major disaster, which will allow FEMA to approve assistance and provide storm victims access to small business loans.
Mother of newborn among 7 killed by storm
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said at least four people were killed by the storm, and state resources were being requested to help with the recovery. At least two were killed by falling trees, and a third was killed by a falling crane, officials said.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office reported an additional three fatalities on Friday evening that were all considered to be indirectly or directly tied to the storm.
4 killed as severe storms blast Houston area with 75+ mph wind
A mother of a newborn was among four killed when a line of severe thunderstorms brought ferocious winds to the Houston area Thursday night, FOX 26 Houston reports.
A 31-year-old woman who had recently given birth to her fourth child was killed when a tree fell across their car in their driveway, according to FOX 26 Houston. The station reports the woman had concerns about the stability of the tree in the storm and had gone out to the car to move it out of the way when the tree toppled, pinning her inside.
A 73-year-old man was killed while working inside a cement truck when a crane toppled into the cab, FOX 26 reported.
Man killed after crane falls on cement truck during Houston's severe storm
A man was killed when a large crane fell on a cement truck during a severe storm in Houston on Thursday, officials say. The tragic incident unfolded about 6:40 p.m. CDT Thursday on Wingate near 75th Street.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez stated the tragic episodes led to at least three deaths in the unincorporated county.
"We had a storm with 100 mph winds — the equivalent of Hurricane Ike. (There's) considerable damage downtown," Whitmire said during a press conference Thursday night. "We had firefighters taking live wires off (Interstate) 290 that was blocking thoroughfares."
(FOX Weather)
Whitmire warned that 2,500 traffic lights across the city were still dark Friday morning, "and they will be down for considerable hours."
METRO Houston reported several disruptions to its METRORail lines, with debris covering tracks in several locations. Bus shuttles were providing emergency service, but officials warned that bus routes were encountering significant delays and detours due to damage around the city.
Several windows were broken in downtown Houston high-rise buildings during severe weather on May 16, 2024.
(Chief Samuel Peña, Houston Fire Dept. / FOX Weather)
"We’re absolutely focused right now on trying to deal with the numerous roads that are blocked by fallen trees, power lines, and debris from some of the structures," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told FOX Weather. "So we’re coordinating with some of the different crews that are going to be out there so we are asking everybody to be patient as they navigate around some of the slow traffic."
‘Rain and debris poured into the lobby’
The local National Weather Service office issued several Tornado Warnings for the Houston metro on Thursday evening, but by the time the storms cleared, strong winds were believed to have caused most of the damage.
"The roof of the Hyatt Regency downtown blew out," a customer at the hotel told FOX Weather. "Rain and debris poured down to the lobby."
He said staff were doing their best to keep people safe and away from the debris.
Windows appeared to be blown out in other downtown buildings, including around the Wells Fargo Plaza.
Listen to the wind howl through Wells Fargo Plaza in downtown Houston
A tornado-warned storm rolled into the Houston metro area shortly before 6 p.m. CDT Thursday. Guests in the lobby of Wells Fargo Plaza could hear the pounding winds driving torrential rains outside with debris flying by the windows. Wind reports up to 78 mph were reported in the area with widespread damage reported of homes, downed trees, and blown-out windows in downtown skyscrapers.
"At least five different high-rise buildings and office buildings and hotels are dealing with serious damage," said FOX Weather Correspondent Katie Byrne. "There are glass company crews on the ground trying to get through every single floor, but some of them tell me that every single floor has at least one completely blown-out window. And these are high-rises with dozens and dozens of floors."
The broken glass and debris forced city leaders to implore non-essential downtown workers to stay home on Friday and ask business owners to be flexible with employee absences.
In nearby Minute Maid Park, wind and water were seen blowing into the building, but the severe weather did not appear to affect the play of the Astros baseball game.
Rain and wind sweep through before the game between the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics at Minute Maid Park on May 16, 2024, in Houston, Texas.
(Logan Riely / Getty Images)
"It is all hands on deck tonight…Downtown is a mess, so stay at home tonight and tomorrow," Whitmire said.
Local residents described the storm's impacts as hurricane-like despite the severe weather lasting less than an hour.
Due to the severe weather, ground stops were also issued at Bush Intercontinental Airport and Houston William P. Hobby Airport. At the peak of the storm, gusts at both airports reached 62 mph. A gust of 71 mph was clocked in College Station, while Cypress hit a gust of 65 mph.
The Houston school district closed all public schools on Friday and said they would reopen Monday.
Damaged buildings in downtown Houston during severe storm
A tornado-warned storm caused significant damage in downtown Houston, with windows blown out of tall buildings on Thursday evening.
Dangerous heat returns as hundreds of thousands remain without power
While the storms' clouds and rain kept temperatures in the low 80s Friday, the return of late springtime heat looms for Houston this weekend into next week, leaving the hundreds of thousands still without power with the daunting reality that they may not have air conditioning.
According to Harris County Executive Judge Lina Hidalgo, 10 energy transmission lines are down.
"If you are tied into the transmission lines that fell… just like in (Hurricane) Ike, you are going to have to go a couple of weeks, most likely, without power," Hidalgo said.
Highs on Saturday and Sunday are expected to climb back into the low 90s around Houston, and with typical humid Gulf air in place, heat index readings are expected to reach the mid-90s.
"We are looking at a multiday event," said Paul Lock with Centerpoint Energy. "If you depend on life-saving equipment, you need to make plans now to find another place to stay."
Houston businesses see major damage from derecho
A line of storms with winds of at least 100 mph impacted parts of East and Southeast Texas on Friday, causing over 1 million power outages and days of clean-up.
84 mph wind rakes New Orleans as storms sweep Gulf Coast
The line of severe thunderstorms continued their march across the Gulf Coast Thursday night into early Friday morning, leaving a trail of wind damage and power outages there in their wake.
(FOX Weather)
Tens of thousands lost power in New Orleans, part of 200,000 power outages in Louisiana during the peak of the storm. New Orleans International Airport recorded two gusts of 84 mph and another gust of 76 mph, as New Orleans’ Lakefront Airport recorded a gust of 82 mph. Accompanying heavy rains left some streets and underpasses flooded around the New Orleans area.
Yall. The sky went BLACK all over Houston, this evening. pic.twitter.com/mq7nITM7EN
— NΛTLY DΞNISΞ (@NatlyDenise_) May 17, 2024