Houston's mayor said at least four people died in a severe windstorm that caused widespread damage Thursday, as the National Weather Service warned of "dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding" in eastern Texas and western Louisiana.
The big picture: The NWS' Storm Prediction Center had warned of possible tornadoes and issued a high risk (Level 4 of 4) of excessive rainfall for portions of western Louisiana and eastern Texas as widespread thunderstorms struck the already-saturated region.
A tornado warning and also a severe thunderstorm warning that included a line referencing "destructive winds" were issued as the storms moved through.
About 800,000 customers were without power in Texas as of Friday morning.
"This was one of the most ferocious storms I've ever seen," meteorologist Matt Lanza of Space City Weather in Houston said in an analysis.
