We’re getting reports of damage across the Houston area after a strong line of storms moved through the area on Monday afternoon.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A line of strong storms moved through the Houston area on Monday, causing damage to several structures and setting off a string of Tornado Warnings.
A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 7 p.m. Monday for most of the Houston area and Southeast Texas.
KHOU 11 News has confirmed damage east of 249 near Louetta in Spring, as well as the destruction of a building at Harris County Emergency Services District 11 on Stuebner Airline.
At one point, while the storms were passing through, CenterPoint’s outage tracker reported more than 27,000 customers without power. There was also a ground stop issued at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
A string of Tornado Warnings went off beginning around 11:30 a.m. and lasted through 2:15 p.m. A storm spotter reported a funnel cloud in northwest Harris County that touched the ground as a weak tornado.
KHOU 11 Chief Meteorologist David Paul said there were several photos and videos of a funnel cloud in the area on Monday afternoon, but it didn’t appear to have touched down to the ground. Paul said the funnel cloud appeared to be at “tree-top level,” which caused substantial damage.
Paul said he believes we could have had an EF-0 or EF-1 funnel cloud that never touched the ground.
A Klein Fire Department official said a tornado seemed to touch down around the Hooks Airport area. They said it went down Stuebner Airline and crossed over the Klein FD administration building, causing damage to a fence, a trailer and other structures.
A Klein Fire Department deputy chief said the storms took down several “heavily rooted trees” that ended up blocking roads in the area.
One house sustained heavy damage, while others had minor damage. Officials said it happened between 1:40 p.m. and 1:50 p.m. and there were no reports of injuries as of about 3 p.m. Several traffic signals were out in the area, and officials warned people to avoid the area.
Klein FD also responded to a fire at a home after lightning struck the roof.
ESD 11 is located next to the Klein Fire Department administration building on Stuebner Airline between Spring Cypress and Louetta. There are several buildings on the 44-acre campus.
An official said they were able to close the shutters and didn’t feel much in the main building, but other buildings at the location were destroyed. The official said a barn at the location used to house equipment went down while two workers were inside when the tornado hit.
The official said the building that was destroyed was the oldest and weakest, and it “folded like tissue paper” and was “completely demolished.”
She said two workers were inside when it went down. The workers said it went dead silent, they heard a lot of rain, and then the building went down. One worker was able to get down and protect himself, and the other took cover under some sort of rack that ended up protecting him.
She also said the storm caused a gas leak and knocked down trees in front of the facility. She said none of the ambulances or the buildings that house the ambulances were impacted, and emergency operations wouldn’t be affected.
KHOU 11 reporter Jason Miles showed up at the Klein Fire Department and ESD 11 facility and saw the damage first-hand. Debris was littered about, as well as several trees that were knocked down.
Also in the northwest Harris County area, Precinct 4 officials said several homes were damaged on Summer Grove Circle, which is in a neighborhood off Champion Forest Drive just north of Louetta Road. Pct. 4 officials said multiple homes were damaged when the storm moved through. They asked people to avoid the area and stay inside until the storms were gone.
Pct. 4 officials said initial reports are that about 100 homes were damaged, and first responders were working to find out if anyone was trapped or injured. They said about 70 deputy constables were patrolling the area, and the Texas Department of Public Safety was sending troopers to help.
Eddie Cruz with the Cy-Fair Fire Department said some firefighters were trapped when they went to check on reports of a lightning strike at a home. Firefighters with Engine 11 went to the scene, and when they got there, they had to take cover in the garage as the strong storm passed by.
No injuries were reported in the area, but there was structural damage and downed power lines, including a confirmed downed power line on Barker Cypress Road near the Riatta Ranch subdivision.
Harris County officials said they activated their emergency readiness to Level 3 after the severe weather passed through on Monday.
Here’s a statement from Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo:
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