Power Outage in Laredo, TX

Observer sent pictures of a power pole and large tree blown down.

The broadcast media reported some downed power poles and reports of wind damage to a few buildings within Laredo. Severe damage was reported at the Sacred Heart Children���s Home with partial roof loss over the dining room as well as smaller cottages around the facility.

Freezing temperatures affected the area from the 14th until 18th. Long duration cold spell led to power outages and issues with water pressure. Damages to homes occurred when frozen pipes burst.

The strong winds toppled trees and damaged the roof of a business in the downtown area. Many branches were broken and left in the middle of streets due to the strong winds. Perez Elementary in south Laredo suffered significant roof damage due to the storm. Multiple power lines were blown down.

The strong winds toppled trees and damaged the roof of a business in the downtown area. Many branches were broken and left in the middle of streets due to the strong winds. Perez Elementary in south Laredo suffered significant roof damage due to the storm. Multiple power lines were blown down.

Power lines were blown down in Rio Bravo.

Ten utility poles were snapped along the Zapata Highway near La Pita Mangana Road in south Laredo. Power was cut off from 9000 customers in south Laredo. Road signs were blown over also.

Spotters reported street signs, brick fence posts, and power lines blown down across the northern part of Laredo.

Fourteen year old boy was electrocuted after picking up a live power line that was downed in the storm.

Several tree branches were blown down in Laredo. Several power lines were blown down with power outages across the city.

Several tree branches were blown down in Laredo. Several power lines were blown down with power outages across the city.

Damaging winds occurred across the southern portion of the city of Laredo. Wind gust were estimated to have reached 60 mph causing power outages in the city. Hail up to half of an inch in diameter was reported also.

A wet microburst of short duration occurred over the northern portion of Laredo. the winds caused damage at a car dealership with windows blown out of several cars along with a few office windows. Approximately 20 cars were damaged at a Mercedes dealership. Several light posts were blown down along with some power lines.

Power lines blown down on the south side of Laredo.

Several power poles were downed throughout the city of Laredo.

A supercell produced severe winds, with a measured gust of 61 mph at the Laredo International Airport (LRD), causing damage to homes, businesses, trees and power poles throughout the north and east-central side of the city. Over 11,000 customers were left without power on the evening of the 14th and morning of the 15th, forcing many businesses to close and school to cancel classes. The storm also tore a roof off of the administrative building at the Laredo Community College (LCC). There were other LCC buildings which received minor damage.

A NWS storm survey team observed the most severe damage at the Laredo International Airport and homes and businesses surrounding the airport. $750,000 in damage was done to city owned buildings at the airport. An estimated $2 million in damage was done to privately owned buildings and hangars on airport grounds. Twenty five aircraft were damaged, most in hangars which failed. A parked Boeing 737 was blown off a runway and through a chain linked fence. An American Eagle plane suffered punctures when a jet way was flipped over into it. The main terminal building suffered minor roof damage. Runways were closed until the next morning so crews could survey them for damage. Thirty two homes, mobile home and apartments sustained major damage along the path of the storm in Laredo. A total of $3.5 million in damage was done to buildings and facilities belonging to the City of Laredo. Twenty five thousand homes were left without power that night. Power officials reported 40 electrical poles snapped in half.

Arctic air mass surged into south Texas on February 3rd and continued through the 5th. Areas of freezing rain and sleet occurred over the Victoria Crossroads on the afternoon and evening of the 3rd. Temperatures fell by the morning of the 4th to the lower 20s in the Victoria Crossroads to around 30 along the coast and along the Rio Grande. With strong winds, wind chill temperatures fell to around 10 degrees to the upper teens on the morning of the 4th. Arctic air remained over the region on the 4th with temperatures falling to the upper teens to upper 20s on the morning of the 5th. The long duration cold spell affected the green turtle population along the Middle Texas coast. Agencies rescued cold stunned turtles along the coast. Over 220 green turtles were rescued while 8 turtles were found dead. A boil water notice was issued for the North Victoria Utilities due to power outage that affected 234 people. The City of Corpus Christi performed over 800 welfare checks. Sixty five people were transported to Robstown to shelter at the Richard M. Borchard Fairgrounds. The Harbor Bridge was closed due to ice accumulations on the bridge on the 4th. A pipe burst at a hospital caused damage to equipment in Alice.

An outbreak of arctic air moved into south Texas on the 11th. Temperatures were near freezing over the inland coastal plains of south Texas on the morning of the 12th. The cold air deepened on the 14th as a surge of arctic air arrived. The historically cold air mass over the southern plains set record low temperatures on the 14th, 15th, and 16th. The long spell of cold temperatures led to power outages state wide. Many residences were without power for up to 5 days. Problems with water pressure occurred due to the long cold spell as well. This caused damage to many homes due to frozen and burst water pipes. Damage estimates to public property in south Texas was around 17 million dollars. The damage to private property in the state was estimated to be in the billions of dollars. So the damage estimate in south Texas could be from 3 to 10 times the amount to public property. The freezing temperatures caused environmental problems along the coast. An extensive fish kill occurred along the coast with a minimum of 4 million fish killed along the Texas coast. It was estimated that 56 thousand spotted sea trout were killed along the Middle Texas coast. The freezing temperatures affected turtles along the Texas coast. A Multi-organizational effort rescued over 13 thousand turtles along the Texas coast, with over 7 thousand rescued along the Middle Texas coast.

A wet microburst occurred over northern portions of the city of Laredo during the evening of July 2nd. There was damage at a car dealership along Interstate 35. Strong winds blew down several light posts and power lines.

A thunderstorm dumped 1-3 inches of rain in a short period over Laredo producing flooding over several main thoroughfares. The storm also produced high winds in Laredo which resulted in wind damage and 17,000 customers losing power.