A family in the Fairfield subdivision in northwest Harris County has a strike of lightning to blame for destroying their home.
"It was the loudest crack of thunder I'd ever heard," said resident Mary Jean.
Within minutes, Jean's house was a total loss. The roof is gone, the second floor exposed. At first, she and her children didn't even know it was their house that was hit.
"All of the sudden, the smoke detector went off upstairs and at the same time, a neighbor came over and was pounding on the door and said the roof was on fire," Jean said.
Neighbor Loren Long had just gotten home.
"I walked outside and saw a hole in the neighbors' house and smoke was billowing out," he said.
Jean got her children out and managed to save just a few things
Meanwhile, in southwest Houston, the storm flooded roads and the high water was too much for some vehicles. We saw many stalled at the intersection of Bissonnet and Weslayan.
Not too far away, a tree told the story of the storm's high winds,
"I just heard a crack and looked and there it was," said resident Joe Koch.
The old oak tree now blocks Banks Street. It had been leaning ever since Hurricane Ike.
"I guess a gust of wind finally did it in," said resident Joe Barnes.
Around 56,000 CenterPoint Energy customers lost power at the height of the storm. Fortunately, there were no reports of any injuries.
Are more storms on the way? Check the forecast and see live MegaDoppler 13 radar in our abc13.com weather center.
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