KATY, TX (Covering Katy News)—Severe thunderstorms that caused flooding and wind gusts of up to 75 mph – consistent with Category 1 hurricane winds – struck Katy and the Houston area Tuesday knocking out power to Seven Lakes Junior High in Katy and causing the death of a teen in Montgomery County.
CenterPoint Energy said around 325,000 customers in the region lost power after the storm. By 8 p.m., 105,000 customers remained without power.
The Houston Chronicle reported that more than a dozen voting centers also lost power yesterday, a runoff election day.
In Montgomery County, a 16-year-old construction worker died after a home in Magnolia that was under construction collapsed on him.
In Katy, a power line set a tree on fire, and a transformer exploded. Rick Bartok, a resident, captured the event and provided his video to Covering Katy News.
The transformer explosion caused power problems for Seven Lakes Junior High School, at 6026 Katy-Gaston Road. Power has since been restored.
Students were on summer break, but Bartok said the parking lot was full of staff vehicles.
"We are aware of the partial loss of electricity at Seven Lakes Junior High due to the nearby transformer," said Katy ISD spokesperson Rachel Ross. "The school's generator is running, and administrative and maintenance staff have been able to continue the normal workday."
By 8 p.m., more than two-thirds of CenterPoint's customers had power restored, and the company was assessing damage to its infrastructure, a process expected to take until this morning, said CenterPoint spokesperson Paul Lock.