Storm Slams This Area
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Several motorists, including one with a chainsaw, stopped to assist two Fayette County Sheriff’s Deputies in removing a downed tree from US 77 on The Bluff Thursday. Photo by Andy Behlen -
A home on Bear Creek Rd. north of La Grange lost part of its roof in the storm on Thursday. Photo courtesy of Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom -
Storm Slams This Area -
Thursday’s storm ripped a roof off a manufactured home on Eblin St. in La Grange (left), and it tore apart a large cattle barn off Mode Ln. (above). Photos by Andy Behlen
A violent storm passed over Fayette County Thursday afternoon, May 16, which downed trees and power lines. The northern parts of the County suffered the worst damage.
Fayette Electric Cooperative (FEC) said the first power outages were reported at 4:54 p.m. La Grange Fire Chief Frank Menefee said winds were predicted at 50 to 60 miles per hour just ahead of the storm, but they may have been even stronger in some areas.
Parts of Fayette and Lee Counties were under a tornado warning shortly before 5 p.m. There were some reports of a funnel cloud in the sky. But no one reported seeing a tornado on the ground in Fayette County.
In La Grange, the storm ripped a metal roof off a manufactured home on Eblin St., and a tree fell on a house on Madison St. It tore apart a cattle barn at Stanley and Virginia Ohnheiser’s property at the end of Mode Lane in La Grange as well.
Trees fell down on roadways all throughout the County, especially in the northern parts. Pct. 2 Commissioner Luke Sternadel said his crews worked into the night clearing debris. Texas Department of Transportation crews also stayed busy clearing the highways. A tree fell down on US 77 about halfway up the Bluff south of La Grange. Several motorists, including one with a chainsaw, assisted two Fayette County Sheriff’s deputies in cutting up the tree and removing it from the road.
Fayette Electric Cooperative reported 2,000 members lost power in the Warda, Round Top, Ledbetter, Fayetteville, Willow Springs, New Ulm and Weimar areas. There were still 158 members without power on Friday morning, FEC said.
“FEC crews, along with contractor crews, worked tirelessly from Thursday evening through Friday to restore power,” FEC said in a statement on Friday.
Menefee, who also serves as La Grange’s Assistant City Manager, said about 600 customers lost power in town.
“We started getting calls around 5 p.m. and had most of it restored by 9 p.m.,” Menefee said. “We had to go back to some individual residences to reconnect lines. Everything was pretty much back to normal by around 1 a.m.
“We also had a lot of trees down and debris in the road,” Menefee added. “All the crews – from the electrical department, street department, water department, parks and cemetery department, police department and even the fire department – everyone helped out.”