A strong summer storm with gusts of up to 97 mph swept through the Houston region Wednesday night, knocking down trees and causing power outages for more than 370,000 CenterPoint Energy customers.

CenterPoint had restored service to many customers by the next day. But more than 160,000 were still without power early Thursday morning. The utility reported its crews were responding to 1,500 active outages.

“Severe weather has caused widespread outages,” CenterPoint Energy warned customers on its Twitter account. The utility told customers to report downed power lines by calling 713-207-2222, and that those with smart meters don't need to report an outage.

READ MORE: Use our interactive map to find Houston cooling centers during the heat wave

CenterPoint said crews had worked overnight to restore power to as many customers “as safely possible.”

“Damage assessment & repairs will continue this morning,” the utility tweeted Thursday morning. “Last night’s severe weather left fallen trees & debris with damages to both transmission & distribution lines.”

The intense storm and high winds caught weather forecasters by surprise. Meteorologist Eric Berger of Space City Weather reported an unconfirmed wind gust of 97 mph at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

The storm also dumped up to an inch of rain in areas that had been under a heat advisory for days.

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160,000 CenterPoint customers without power after storm pummels Houston area

by John Tedesco, Abdelraoufsinno
June 22, 2023

<h1>160,000 CenterPoint customers without power after storm pummels Houston area</h1> <p class="byline">by John Tedesco, Abdelraoufsinno <br />June 22, 2023</p> <p>A strong summer storm with <a href="https://spacecityweather.com/surprise-heavy-rains-strong-winds-came-early-to-houston-on-wednesday-evening/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gusts of up to 97 mph</a> swept through the Houston region Wednesday night, knocking down trees and causing power outages for more than 370,000 CenterPoint Energy customers.</p> <p>CenterPoint had <a href="https://gis.centerpointenergy.com/outagetracker/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">restored service to many customers</a> by the next day. But more than 160,000 were still without power early Thursday morning. The utility reported its crews were responding to 1,500 active outages.</p> <p>"Severe weather has caused widespread outages," CenterPoint Energy warned customers on its Twitter account. The utility told customers to report downed power lines by calling 713-207-2222, and that those with smart meters don't need to report an outage.</p> <div class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow" data-effect="slide"> <div class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper-container"> <ul class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper"> <li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"> <figure><img alt="Broken tree due to an overnight storm that left the area of Greenspoint damaged and its residents without electricity" class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-8172" data-id="8172" src="https://abdelraoufsinno.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230622_STORM-0622_MDJ_011.jpg" /><figcaption class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption">Broken tree due to an overnight storm that left the area of Greenspoint damaged and its residents without electricity Thursday.(Marie D. De Jesús / Abdelraoufsinno)</figcaption></figure> </li> <li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"> <figure><img alt="Two people observe the damage to a mobile home from a fallen tree in Greenspoint after an overnight storm moved through the area" class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-8168" data-id="8168" src="https://abdelraoufsinno.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230622_STORM-0622_MDJ_04.jpg" /><figcaption class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption">Two people observe the damage to a mobile home from a fallen tree in Greenspoint after an overnight storm moved through the area, Thursday, June 22, 2023, in Houston. (Marie D. De Jesús / Abdelraoufsinno)</figcaption></figure> </li> <li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"> <figure><img alt="Storm damage in Houston" class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-8162" data-id="8162" src="https://abdelraoufsinno.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230622_STORM-0622_MDJ_01.jpg" /><figcaption class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption">A fallen pole rests on the ground by West Greens Road after a storm moved through the area overnight leaving debris scattered in Greenspoint on Thursday. (Marie D. De Jesús / Abdelraoufsinno)</figcaption></figure> </li> <li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"> <figure><img alt="An electric generator provides electricity to a mobile home in Greenspoint" class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-8169" data-id="8169" src="https://abdelraoufsinno.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230622_STORM-0622_MDJ_07.jpg" /><figcaption class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption">An electric generator provides electricity to a mobile home in Greenspoint after an overnight storm damaged the area, leaving residents without power Thursday. (Marie D. De Jesús / Abdelraoufsinno)</figcaption></figure> </li> <li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"> <figure><img alt="Broken tree due to an overnight storm that left the area of Greenspoint damaged and its residents without electricity" class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-8174" data-id="8174" src="https://abdelraoufsinno.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230622_STORM-0622_MDJ_013.jpg" /><figcaption class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption">Broken tree due to an overnight storm that left the area of Greenspoint damaged and its residents without electricity. (Marie D. De Jesús / Abdelraoufsinno)</figcaption></figure> </li> <li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"> <figure><img alt="A fallen tree blocks West Greens Road after a storm left the area of Greenspoint damaged" class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-8171" data-id="8171" src="https://abdelraoufsinno.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230622_STORM-0622_MDJ_010.jpg" /><figcaption class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption">A fallen tree blocks West Greens Road after a storm left the area of Greenspoint damaged and its residents without electricity Thursday. (Marie D. De Jesús / Abdelraoufsinno)</figcaption></figure> </li> <li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"> <figure><img alt="Traffic lights without electricity in the morning" class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-8193" data-id="8193" src="https://abdelraoufsinno.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/20230622_STORM-0622_MDJ_06.jpg" /><figcaption class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption">Traffic lights are without power on the Greens Parkway and W Greens Road intersection after an overnight storm affected the Greenspoint area leaving some residents without electricity, Thursday. (Marie D. De Jesús / Abdelraoufsinno)</figcaption></figure> </li> </ul> <p><a class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white" role="button"></a><a class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white" role="button"></a><a aria-label="Pause Slideshow" class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause" role="button"></a></p> <div class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white"></div> </div> </div> <p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://abdelraoufsinno.com/use-our-interactive-map-to-find-houston-cooling-centers-during-this-weekends-heat-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Use our interactive map to find Houston cooling centers during the heat wave</a></p> <p>CenterPoint said crews had worked overnight to restore power to as many customers "as safely possible."</p> <p>"Damage assessment &amp; repairs will continue this morning," the utility tweeted Thursday morning. "Last night’s severe weather left fallen trees &amp; debris with damages to both transmission &amp; distribution lines."</p> <p>The intense storm and high winds caught weather forecasters by surprise. Meteorologist Eric Berger of Space City Weather reported an <a href="https://spacecityweather.com/surprise-heavy-rains-strong-winds-came-early-to-houston-on-wednesday-evening/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unconfirmed wind gust of 97 mph</a> at Bush Intercontinental Airport.</p> <p>The storm also dumped up to an inch of rain in areas that had been under a <a href="https://abdelraoufsinno.com/use-our-interactive-map-to-find-houston-cooling-centers-during-this-weekends-heat-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">heat advisory for days</a>.</p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://abdelraoufsinno.com/160000-centerpoint-customers-without-power-after-storm-pummels-houston-area/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://abdelraoufsinno.com">Abdelraoufsinno</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://abdelraoufsinno.com/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://abdelraoufsinno.com/?republication-pixel=true&post=8150&amp;ga4=" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p> Copy to Clipboard

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