The recent tornadoes in Houston have left people reeling after the intense storm system plowed through the area, causing damage to homes and businesses in its path.
Beyond structural damage, the twisters also caught motorists off guard, as many had to wait out the storms from their cars. For instance, a teen from La Porte, Texas, had to wait it out in his pickup truck. However, before the twister touched down, he waited for his parents while they were at a doctor’s appointment.
“He said the airbags deployed and he sat there and just kind of held on,” the teen’s dad, Loren Green, said after the storms. “I mean all this rock and everything was flying through the back windshield. It’s a good thing he didn’t get hurt.”
Amazingly, the young man walked away from the incident without a scratch. “It’s a blessing for sure,” his dad added.
In addition, Deer Park postal worker Brian Meed also went through a similar terrifying situation. During the storms, Mead was delivering mail when the tornado made landfall. At the time, his mail truck was his only respite from the storm. While taking cover, he shot a wild video that shows debris flying in the air. But, like the young teen, he also walked away unharmed.
While the storms may have dissipated, it will likely take weeks for the city to clean up the destruction that caused extreme damage to homes and businesses in a matter of minutes.
Houston begins cleaning up after EF3 tornado ripped through city, suburbs
According to the National Weather Service in Houston, on Wednesday, an EF3 tornado touched down in the Houston suburbs of Pasadena and Deer Park, leaving a path of destruction that reportedly had a maximum path length of 18 miles.
The NWS also said the maximum path width of the twister was 0.66 miles, and the top wind speed was 140 mph.
Now, days after the storm system plowed through the Lone Star State, we’re getting new details about the damage. According to a Public Information Statement released by the NWS Survey Teams, the tornado that affected the Deer Park area touched down around 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
Survey teams also observed a path of damage that extended through Pasadena, Deer Park, and Baytown.
According to the agency, nearly all the damage along the 18-mile path was classified as an EF0 or EF1. It then peaked at an EF3 northeast of Deer Park just before crossing the Houston Ship Channel.
Teams also observed high-tension electrical towers that the storms had taken down, indicating that 140mph EF3 winds were present at the time. The tornado then began to evaporate northwest of Baytown around 2:50 p.m.
