“We’ve seen similar damage from hurricanes, but never from just a storm.”
/Last Saturday, a strong line of thunderstorms moved in across southeast Texas. I was enjoying a quick weekend trip with my family to Galveston. My wife and I had checked the weather forecast on Friday, and there was only a 10% to 20% chance of rain on Saturday.
So when we were checking out of our hotel, and opening the door from the lobby to the outside was virtually impossible due to the wind and the crazy amount of rain, we were a bit surprised. This storm packed a punch, tons of high wind, driving rain, lots of thunder and lightning.
It wasn’t until later in the day, back in Katy, that I would get a real appreciation for the strength of the storm. Driving down the Grand Parkway, I saw a billboard that had been toppled over. It actually fell on top of a fireworks stand and took some power lines down with it. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.
billboard in Katy, Texas, toppled over by less than hurricane force winds
But seeing that toppled billboard made me realize that even though this was not a hurricane and instead was just part of the 10% to 20% chance of rain that day, thunderstorms can cause serious damage even if the winds don’t reach hurricane strength.
The damage I saw also made me think back to the times when I have heard others in the residential engineering and construction industry casually make statements like, “All the strapping and hold-downs are overkill…we know houses in Houston won’t ever experience a 110-MPH wind speed.” Even if the above statement is true, as engineers who design houses to resist hurricane force winds, we need to ensure we are doing it properly, erring on the side of caution, and respecting the forces that even less than hurricane force winds can generate.
Check out the story below from ABC News on the storms. It includes some other good pictures and some video.
