Severe storms hit the Houston area; more than a million people without power in Texas

More than a million Texans are without power as severe storms hit the Houston area Thursday evening.

Heavy rains and violent storms also flooded streets and broke windows and glass in downtown buildings.

Mayor John Whitmere urged his city’s residents to stay home and stay off the roads.

“Many roads are impassable due to downed power lines, debris and fallen trees,” the mayor’s statement said. He also spoke of “significant” power outages and damage reported in the area.

In Harris County, where Houston is located, nearly 850,000 homes and businesses were without power around 8:30 p.m. CT, according to poweroutage.us.

The National Weather Service expected three to six inches of rain to fall, with higher totals possible in some areas. A flood watch was in place until Friday morning.

The National Weather Service in Houston warned that tornadoes were possible as “severe storms continue to pass through our coastal counties.” The agency issued a tornado watch For parts of Texas, including Houston, and Louisiana, this is in effect until 10 p.m. CT.

Flood warnings for parts of South Texas are in effect through Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service, covering parts of Harris County, as well as cities including Austin, Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Houston, Madison, Montgomery, Northern Liberty, Polk, San Jacinto, Southern Liberty, Trinity, Walker, Waller and Washington.

Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia took to social media to urge its teams must “stay in place” because “many members are on the ground, which makes the roads dangerous”. He added that his crews were ready to begin removing debris “once the winds subside.”

Photos and videos on social media show intense flooding and downed trees in Houston, as well as overturned power towers and power lines.

In a video posted to Facebook, rain is seen seeping into Minute Maid Park, where the Houston Astros play. Another video showed hordes of baseball fans leaving the stadium due to bad weather.

Winds in the area were so strong that they appeared to blow off the roof panels of a Hyatt Regency hotel in Houston, another video posted on social networks watch.

And the windows of a building at Wells Fargo Plaza in Houston appear to have been blown out by storms, according to a post on.