Houston and southeast Texas experienced two severe wind events within eight weeks: the May derecho and Hurricane Beryl. Each storm produced hurricane-force gusts, which led to extensive tree damage and prolonged power outages.
With two impactful events so close together- severe storms that produced the strongest wind gust ever recorded at Bush Intercontinental Airport last year, Texans may be asking themselves if Houston is getting windier.
ABC13 Meteorologist Elyse Smith dives into this topic as part of a new initiative, Climate Ready.
RELATED: Disaster recovery expert weighs in on how long it takes to rebuild from a derecho
On Monday, ABC News and ABC-owned television stations launched "Climate Ready" to teach local communities about climate change, how it could impact their daily lives, and producing practical solutions for solving problems down the road, like how extreme weather could change their way of life.
What stands out when it comes to recent extreme weather is Beryl and the May derecho , specifically, how severe winds impacted areas in southeast Texas.
But Houston isn't necessarily getting "windier," at least not daily. However, wind gusts produced by severe storms or tropical systems could continue to strengthen as our climate warms. It's an indirect impact, but globally, warmer air and water temperatures aid in producing stronger storms. The stronger the storms, the greater the impact.
Additionally, there are more people, places, and things within a storm's path than 20 to 30 years ago. That's especially true in our area.
Data from the Houston-Galveston Area Council shows that between 1990 and 2015, more than 2.6 million people moved to Houston. So, the number of people impacted and the cost of damage are both much higher.
Our ABC13 partners at AccuWeather estimate that Beryl caused damage in the U.S. of between $28 and $32 billion.
"We look at a wide variety of direct and indirect impacts from the storm. We're looking at things like not only the damage that occurred but also the disruption to commerce, job losses, business impacts, supply chain problems, the cost of medical care, emergency management, accommodations people need to make to their schedule as a result of the storm, power outages, and food spoilage," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said.
RELATED: CenterPoint apologizes and proposes action plan to work efficiently following botched Beryl response
Since Hurricane Beryl made landfall and left behind widespread damage and people without power for days, a magnifying glass was put on the city of Houston and CenterPoint regarding post-storm recovery. More so, there is a need for area infrastructure to become more resilient to weather future storms. Topics are still being discussed among city and state leaders three weeks later.
On the other hand, wind could also help make the Texas grid more resilient to future outages caused not by a wind storm but by freezes or heat waves.
The Prairie Switch Wind Project opened this past spring in Wharton County and will produce 160 megawatts of power that's sent right into the grid.
According to our partners at Climate Central, Texas was the leading wind-producing state in 2023, producing enough energy to power over 11 million homes across the Lone Star state.
Both wind and solar power are expected to grow in Texas over the next decade.
This story is part of our Climate Ready series - a collaboration between ABC News and the ABC Owned Television Stations focused on providing practical solutions to help you and your family adapt to extreme weather events and the current challenges of climate change.
For more on this story, follow Elyse Smith on Facebook , X and Instagram .
Most Popular
Comments / 0