PASADENA, Texas — A robust storm system took aim on the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, spawning a tornado that downed utility poles and power lines, overturned vehicles and ripped roofs off homes and businesses in communities east of Houston. There have been no immediate reports of significant injuries.
The National Weather Service had issued a tornado emergency for that area, warning that a “large, extremely dangerous and potentially deadly tornado” was on the bottom Tuesday afternoon and was headed toward Baytown, about 25 miles east of Houston. The warning expired because the system moved to the east, abandoning cooler temperatures.
Strong winds damaged business buildings, homes and power lines in nearby Pasadena, a city southeast of Houston. Utility poles and power lines were downed, and a number of other vehicles, including a trailer, were damaged or flipped over in a parking zone.
Footage from Houston TV station KTRK showed several businesses suffered major damage, including town’s animal shelter. Nearby, fences were laid over and shingles and sections of roofs were torn from homes, but there have been no immediate reports of injuries.
The American Red Cross said it was opening a shelter in Pasadena.
In Baytown, there have been downed power lines and damage to homes and businesses, but no reports of significant injuries, said Baytown spokesperson Jason Calder.
Officials in nearby Deer Park said the tornado did severe damage to a nursing home. Residents needed to be taken away, but nobody was hurt.
As emergency crews worked to revive power, Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton Jr. urged anyone who needed a spot to remain to look outside his city.
“There’s one aspect of me that’s amazed that nobody got injured,” Mouton said. “We are going to take care of the property and recuperate and rebuild.”
Lots of the suburbs in the world have a heavy presence of petrochemical industry sites.
Shell Chemicals’ location in Deer Park was flaring, or burning off natural gas, after it lost steam due to severe weather, in accordance with Shell spokesperson Curtis Smith.
“We’re taking steps to attenuate any noise, light, or smoke related to this activity, though it’s expected to proceed until the units are restarted,” Smith said via email. “There isn’t any threat to the community, nor are there any indications a close-by tornado touched down throughout the Chemicals facility.”
The web site PowerOutage.us, which collects live power outage data from utilities across the US, reported about 67,000 Texas customers were without power Tuesday night, mostly within the Houston area and surrounding counties. The location reported about 28,000 outages in neighboring Arkansas, and about 25,000 in Louisiana.
The storm system was also bringing snow and ice to much of the central US.
Schools and businesses were closed Tuesday across Oklahoma, which saw snowfall totals of between 1 and 6 inches across central and eastern parts of the state. Several school districts in southwest Louisiana dismissed students early Tuesday in anticipation of severe weather in the world.
