WEDNESDAY STORMS BRING IN HEAVY RAIN, HAIL, REPORTS OF TORNADO
Severe, fast-moving storms passed through Washington County and surrounding areas this (Wednesday) afternoon, dumping rain and hail across the region.
Reports came in of ping pong ball-sized hail seen in Independence and the old Washington area, along with debris in roadways. Residents also reported a possible tornado near old Washington, leaving behind uprooted trees and damaged buildings.
Meanwhile, thousands of Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative members in Washington and Burleson Counties had their power knocked out as a result of the storms.
Update #2 @ 11:50 a.m. Thursday: According to Bluebonnet’s online outage map, as of 11:50 a.m. this (Thursday) morning, crews are working to restore power to over 1,500 members.
Update @ 6:20 a.m. Thursday: According to Bluebonnet’s online outage map, as of 6 a.m. this (Thursday) morning, crews are working to restore power to over 1,800 members. Over 4,200 members were without power Wednesday afternoon.
The largest outages are concentrated in northeast, east, and southeast Washington County, with smaller outages reported in east and southeast Burleson County.
Original Story @ 4:24 p.m. Wednesday: According to Bluebonnet’s online outage map, as of 4:15 p.m. this afternoon, crews have responded to over 40 outages affecting over 4,200 members.
The largest outages were reported in north, northeast, and east Washington County and southeast Burleson County, with smaller outages reported in north and east Burleson County.
KWHI thanks everyone who submitted photos for our website.
Video courtesy of Shaniqa Monae
Many thanks to Bluebonnet Electric Coop. They are amazing !! Our power was out for 24 hours but we appreciate the text updates during that time.