Showers and thunderstorms eased over parts of Texas Wednesday following a severe storm that downed power lines and knocked out electricity to thousands of residents in the Houston area.
Crews worked early Wednesday to restore power to customers after some 82,000 homes lost electricity when the storm hit Tuesday night, Houston Lighting and Power spokeswoman Geri Konigsberg said.A wind gust of 72 mph was recorded in Princeton, near Dallas.
Elsewhere, thunderstorms caused flooding in parts of West Virginia, where flash flood watches were in effect for most of the state. Lighter rain was reported in Maryland, Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.
But in most of the West, the weather continued to offer normal sunshine and temperatures with only scattered showers.
The main exception was the Pacific Northwest. Heavy rains caused minor flooding in eastern Washington. In northern Oregon, some areas received more than 1 inch of rain Tuesday in a 12-hour period.
The record-setting heat wave continued to grip the Deep South Tuesday, as consumers set a record for energy demand for the fifth time this summer. The Southern Co., a parent for five electric utilities, said customers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi used an all-time high of 28.3 million kilowatts Monday.
While Southerners sought relief under air conditioners, a cold front moved across the region, spawning violent thunderstorms in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida. Dangerous lightning and high winds knocked out power, felled trees and bombarded parts of north Georgia with golf-size hail Tuesday night.