Tornado strikes Texas' Harris County — over 100 homes damaged, trees uprooted, power outage hits US county | Watch

Texas' Harris County is reeling in the aftermath of an intense tornado that damaged several houses and other public property on Monday, 24 November. As per CNN report, the tornado caused significant damage to over 100 homes.

Harris County Constable Mark Herman confirmed the extensive damage in a Facebook post. Giving an insight to the level of destruction, he shared a video showing damaged houses with broken roofs, dishevelled streets and uprooted trees. Drone footage reveals the extent of damage, showing torn-off rooftops, shattered windows, broken fence and debris strewn across yards and pools.

He further noted that first responders are actively searching for residents who may be injured or trapped in the affected areas. Fire tenders and Emergency medical services (EMS) partners arrived at the spot to help with search and rescue operation. Their teams were conducting medical evaluations, checking damaged structures, and addressing emergency hazards, Mark Herman said.

Multiple reports of storm-related damage included debris blocking roadways and numerous power outages throughout the area.

In the "severe weather event", Harris County Emergency Services campus felt significant impact. Maintenance building roof and the back wall were ripped off, said spokesperson Miranda Sevcik. According to the spokesperson, large tree trunks on the campus "snapped like toothpicks" during the twister.

Residents were advised to avoid travelling due to debris blocking the roads and downed power lines in the impacted neighbourhoods.

What NWS and meteorologists said?

An unstable atmosphere combined with wind shear produced supercell thunderstorms caused multiple tornado, CNN report citing Meteorologists. Ahead of a cold front, severe storms had developed across the Houston area on Monday in the wake of warm temperatures.

The National Weather Service confirmed that tornado struck the county and issued a fresh cyclone warning for Mississippi and Alabama.

In a post on X NWS stated, “Isolated severe thunderstorms are likely across parts of the Southeast/Deep South Tuesday morning into early evening. A couple tornadoes are possible in parts of eastern Mississippi and Alabama. In the north-central U.S., a storm will bring heavy snow and gusty to high winds over parts of the northern Plains and Upper Midwest Tuesday before impacting the Great Lakes Wednesday into Thanksgiving.”