Tornado Touches Down In Southwest Houston

HOUSTON, TX -- At least one tornado is believed to have touched down in southwest Houston as a line of heavy storms moved through the Houston are, causing damage to a carport and toppled a tree onto a car.

The damage was reported at apartment complext ar Bissonnet Street and Renwick Street at about 10:30 a.m.

Officials said at least one person was hit by flying debris, but that person was not seriously injured.

A line of heavy storms that rolled through the Metro Houston area at the start of morning rush hour on Wednesday, caused a number of issues, and in some cases a lot of damage.

Heavy rains, and high winds began to roll through the Houston area, at about 9 a.m., with the worst of the weather hitting the area shortly after 10 a.m., when the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning.

At 10:30 a.m., the alert was expanded to include Harris and Montgomery counties, which expired at 11 a.m. (Sign up for Patch’s daily newsletter for your neighborhood.)

The storms caused a delay at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport leading to as many as 14 scheduled flights being diverted to other airports.

The storm also caused the cancellation of the Shell Houston Open, which go underway March 27.

The tournament is expected to resume Thursday.

The storm caused power outages throughout the city, which at the height of the storm, left 16,000 residents without power from 11:30 a.m. until about 12:30 p.m.

Shelter in place orders were issued for students in Houston ISD and Spring Branch ISD.

As if the high winds and rain wasn’t enough, a woman and Cypress was taken to an area hospital suffering from chest pains after her home was struck by lightening and caused a fire.

Officials from the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department responded and were able to contain the fire and transport the woman to the hospital.

Meanwhile, a flash flood watch is in effect for Harris, Galveston, Montgomery and Fort Bend Counties until 5:15 p.m.

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