High wind and massive hail caused trees to be ripped up at the roots and car windshields to be shattered as a large band of severe thunderstorms moved through North Texas after 5 p.m. June 11. The storms, which also caused numerous power outages that Oncor is still working to resolve, pounded the Flower Mound area with baseball-sized hail and left many streets impassible in Hollywood Heights.
Downed Trees, Hail Damage, And Power Outages
daltxrealestate.com received photos of several downed trees in East Dallas neighborhoods. Massive oak trees throughout the Lower Greenville and Hollywood Heights neighborhoods crushed vehicles and blocked streets. As of this morning, almost 6,000 North Texas customers are still without power according to Oncor’s storm response map.
In the Casa View area, neighbors are reporting limbs on power lines and at least one attic fire due to Sunday night’s severe weather. Several large limbs caused power outages in the Far East Dallas neighborhood with several homeowners waiting for power to be restored to the area.
One North Texas resident heading back to Dallas from East Texas was able to catch photos and video of the massive storm as it passed through the Dallas area.
Several Fort Worth residents reported hail from pea sized to baseball sized.
Keeping The Grid Going
After several summers of outages and rolling blackouts in the North Texas area, it’s no wonder that residents are concerned about whether Electric Reliability Council of Texas can keep the power on in these conditions.
ERCOT issued a notice to the press that the agency has launched what they’re calling the “Contingency Reserve Service” to help balance supply and demenad to keep the grid from failing.
“As summer temperatures begin to rise across Texas and with high demand forecasted, we will continue to use all operational tools available, including implementation of new programs like ECRS,” said ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas. “ERCOT will also execute previous sessions’ legislative reforms, such as our weatherization inspections, and we’ll continue our reliability-first approach to operations, always prioritizing grid reliability.”
What to do After Severe Weather
For those who were hit hard by this hail storm, making sure your roof is taken care of can keep disastrous water damage at bay. Columnist Brenda Masse outlines the first steps for homeowners after a hail storm here.
