A powerful storm late Sunday in Madisonville caused damages -- including roofs being ripped off and at least one vehicle being flipped.
National Weather Service meteorologist Kent Prochazka said a a microburst -- which happens when rain-cold air comes down and spreads out when it hits the ground -- hit at around 5 p.m. and caused trees to snap, large limbs to fall, a roof to blow off the Lakeside Restaurant on Main Street and structural damage to the Subway restaurant. Authorities said there also was a report of an overturned vehicle on Interstate 45.
He said residents reported nickel-sized hail and 80 mph winds. The storm was over in about an hour, he said.
Madison Chief Gary Clendennen said an 18-wheeler and a truck with a horse trailer with horses inside were blown over on Interstate 45, between Texas 21 and Texas 75. A fifth-wheel travel trailer with a one-ton truck attached were also dumped over in the same area, he said.
Clendennen said the roofs were blown off the Budget Inn and Los Panchitos restaurant, as well as the Lakeside Restaurant, where the roof caved in. He said some people in the accidents were transported to area hospitals, but there were no reports of serious injuries. The horses were also taken out of the dumped-over trailer with "minor damage," he said.
Clendennen said power was out from about 5 to 11:30 p.m., mainly in the area of Interstate 45 and Texas 21. He said a power line was down and several power poles were snapped along Interstate 45 on the southbound side, between Highway 75 and Texas 21, he said, adding that poles were replaced Sunday night.
Ronnie Hale, spokesman for Entergy Texas, Inc., said about 1,000 customers were without power until about midnight along the Interstate 45 and Texas 21 area in Madisonville and Midway.
About 30 homes in rural areas of Madisonville remained without power Monday afternoon, he said. Crews worked throughout the night, and sent out new manpower Monday morning to make repairs to downed power lines and to replace about 15 broken poles, he said.
Clendennen said he believed businesses that sustained major damages remained closed Monday.
Prochazka said Madisonville received 1.37 inches of rain during the storm, and temperatures reached 100 degrees, he said. The only other area in southeast Texas that received severe weather was Harris County, which was hit by golf-sized hail, he said.
Prochazka said people often mistake microbursts for tornados because the storms sound loud as high winds blow through.
"It's the wind blowing really, really hard," he said.
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