Remnants of severe weather continue to impact Houston, Texas and surrounding areas as many residents still don’t have their power restored following heavy rain and damaging winds that swept through on Thursday.
As of 1:32 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon, Texas had over 480,000 reported power outages, according to a USA TODAY power outage tracker.
Of the 14.8 million resident that are being tracked, Harris County leads the number of power outages with 266,340. Chambers County has the second highest outages at 24,695 followed by Austin County with 18,611 and Fort Bend County with 16,436.
Heat is also playing a factor in the weather and the state is looking to open cooling centers this weekend.
7 people have died as result of the storms
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced that the death toll of Texans who died in the storms has risen to seven.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gonzalez shared the news with his followers on Friday.
“Heartbreaking! My condolences go out to the families that lost a loved one during yesterday’s severe weather event,” Gonzalez said.
A 57-year-old man was trying to move a downed electrical pole. He then collapsed and was transported to a local hospital where he later died. Lightning struck a home that caused a fire. An 85-year-old woman was trapped inside and later died. A 60-year-old man was found dead after he was trying to find power to plug in his oxygen tank, according to Gonzalez’s post.
Additionally, a 31-year-old mother of 4 was killed after a tree fell on her car, according to local outlet ABC13.
Storm deaths:17-year-old girl was killed in Tallahassee tornado outbreak, marking storm’s 2nd fatality
Weekend forecast: Flooding risk, high temperatures
On Saturday, the Florida Panhandle and parts of southern Georgia and Alabama will see showers and thunderstorms along the Gulf of Mexico, the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center said in a short-range forecast discussion early Saturday. Forecasters have warned of flash floods in the Gulf Coast region, due to saturated soil.
Storm chances will ease overnight Saturday and into Sunday, as the northern part of the frontal system pushes eastward into the Atlantic Ocean, the forecast said.
Over the weekend, scorching temperatures into the 90s will hit South Florida, federal forecasters said. When accounting for humidity, heat indices could reach close to 110, prompting a heat advisory throughout South Florida on Saturday.
Southern Texas is expected to see heat reach the mid-100s and heat indices upwards of 110 degrees near Corpus Christi on Tuesday. Summer-like heat will expand to the Central Plains and into the Midwest, forecasters said.
Meanwhile, portions of the Central Plains face an enhanced risk for severe weather including large hail, damaging gusts and a few tornadoes, according to the federal Storm Prediction Center. Local heavy rainfall could also be possible, particularly from the Central Plains northeastward into the Upper Mississippi River Valley.
The National Weather Service issued an excessive and heavy rainfall warning for parts of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The government agency said these conditions could last until Wednesday or Thursday next week.
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter)
Read More: Texas power outage map: Nearly 480,000 without power