Stars Use 4-Goal Second Period To Dominate Blue Jackets 5-1Joe Pavelski scored his team-high 18th goal of the season as one of five Dallas players with a goal and an assist, and the Stars scored four times in 6½ minutes in the second period to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-1 on Saturday night.<doc-sep>A stronger-than-predicted swath of storms stranded motorists and school children for hours Tuesday as floodwaters filled streets and homes in the Houston area from Sugar Land to Kingwood, according to officials. Officials warned that another round storms with the potential for heavy rainfall this week could exacerbate already damp conditions. "With the ground saturated, anytime between now and Saturday it's not going to take much to cause high water situations," said Francisco Sanchez, spokesman for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management. "This is just a preview of what we might see next weekend. The forecast was wrong and we hope we don't have a repeat of this." Around 8 p.m., the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management declared a level three alert. "This is not in any way a Harvey-level event," Sanchez assured. "This was a storm system that came through that was under forecasted." The storm dumped a whopping eight to 10 inches of rain in Kingwood, just days after deadly winds swept through the area. During a patrol in the Houston suburb, police Chief Art Acevedo spotted dozens of stuck cars in waist-deep water and urged drivers to stay off the roads as high-water rescue crews were dispatched to the area. Residents were evacuated from flooding homes in the Elm Grove subdivision in the 5500 and 5600 blocks of Village Springs Drive, he said in a phone call, and young children were rescued from a preschool that began filling with water. “That subdivision didn’t even flood during Harvey,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said. The Houston Fire Department received about 240 high-water rescue calls in the Kingwood area and responded to about 40, a spokesperson said. A command center was set up along Kingwood Parkway to help a line of trapped motorists on the flooded roadways. There were no known reports of injuries. Students at Kingwood High School were forced to shelter in place until around 9 p.m. because of the storm, police said. Flood warnings were also issued for Fort Bend County, particularly in Sugar Land, where all major roadways were deemed "impassible" because of the rain. Since the worst of the storm began, city spokesman Doug Adolph said they had eight inches of precipitation and were expecting more. "This is worse than what we experienced in Harvey," Sugar Land spokesman Doug Adolph said. "Our storm drains have been unable to handle the rain in the short amount of time." Firefighters in Sugar Land were also dispatched to at least six structure fires caused by the storm's lightning, Adolph said. A flood watch was also ordered for Missouri City, Rosenberg, Stafford and Richmond. TRACK THE STORMS: See where the rain is falling Fort Bend County Judge KP George waived tolls on the Fort Bend Parkway, Westpark Toll Road and Grand Parkway in an attempt to keep motorists away from flooded roads. Residents in southwest Houston, from Meyerland to Westbury to NRG Park and areas around Brays Bayou, were urged to monitor flood conditions. As the storms tracked east, residents from Pearland to Baytown were placed under a flash flood warning. Harris County was under a flash flood watch until 2 a.m. Wednesday. More for you News Turn around: These Houston streets had most flooding... In isolated areas of southwest Houston, as of press time, the Harris County Flood Control District had recorded more than four inches of precipitation. Nearby, there were reports of high-water rescues in Chinatown and Brays Oaks, and police were warning of rising water in the Meyerland area. The brunt of the rain — along with its flurry of lightning — began around 3 p.m. and continued through much of the evening. In downtown Houston, a loud thunder clap interrupted Harris County Flood Control District meteorologist Jeff Lindner and brought a chuckle to a federal courtroom as he testified about extreme weather in a Harvey-related case. Jay R. Jordan, Gabrielle Banks and J.R. Gonzales contributed to this report. BREAKING NEWS | ALERTS Get breaking news sent directly to your inbox. See More Collapse Got pictures of flooding around Houston? Send them to photos@chron.com.<doc-sep>Between the pounding rain and the thunder, Houston did not rest easy on Thursday night. Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story indicated the lightning strike took 12 seconds, but it lasted approximately eight seconds. The reporter who recorded it says he filmed it in high speed, which makes the lightning appear a little slower than it really was. ------ FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas -- Strong storms and heavy rain pounded Southeast Texas overnight Thursday into Friday, leading to some street flooding, hail and an intense lightning show. One lightning strike in particular was captured on video by KHOU 11 Reporter Brett Buffington. It shows what appears to be a single lightning bolt striking the same spot in Fort Bend and Waller counties over and over again. You can count it. It his the same spot 11 times. Buffington tells us he thinks the lightning was striking a shed. He says the repeated lightning strike was shot in high speed so it appears slowed down a little in the video. You can see it in the video clip above followed by other amazing lighting bolts from Thursday night. At this time there are no confirmed reports of injuries or deaths resulting from Thursday night's storms, but there was plenty of street flooding with cars stalled out. In Friendswood a possible lightning strike set fire to a mansion.<doc-sep>For those who think lightning can't strike the same place twice, Mother Nature proved otherwise Thursday. The video below shows lightning in Fort Bend County striking the same spot ... 11 times. It was captured by KHOU 11 reporter Brett Buffington. Lightning often strikes the same place repeatedly, according to National Weather Service's (NWS) website. The Empire State Building in New York City, New York is hit an average of 23 times a year, the NWS reported. The NWS' website also provides a list of lightning myths and trivia. Should you seek shelter under a tree to stay dry during a thunderstorm? No, this the second leading cause of lightning casualties, the NWS reported. Will you be electrocuted by touching a lightning victim? This is also false. The human body does not store electricity; thus, it is safe to touch a lightning victim to give them first aid, the NWS reported. What is the chance of becoming a lightning victim in your lifetime? according to the NWS, your odds are 1 in 15,000. For more lightning facts, head to NWS' website. Marcy de Luna is a digital reporter. You can follow her on Twitter @MarcydeLuna and Facebook @MarcydeLuna. Read her stories on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | Marcy.deLuna@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message<doc-sep>
The Greater Houston area was inundated with floodwaters after severe weather brought heavy rainfall, hail and severe lightning strikes Thursday night. Several Houston area suburbs such as Kingwood and Sugar Land braced for a second round of severe weather after storms initially flooded roadways and neighborhoods Tuesday. While Houstonians faced high waters, flooded homes and large hail both nights, the storms also brought another dangerous hazard: lightning strikes that were a little too close for comfort. As a result of the Thursday storms, a two-story home in Porter was severely damaged in a fire caused by a lightning strike. In Fort Bend, lightning was seen striking the same spot 11 times in a video posted by KHOU. STORM COVERAGE: Dramatic photos of severe flooding and storm damage across Houston area shared by readers Following the recent storms, residents have made numerous reports of lightning strikes in and around area homes in Houston, according to the Montgomery County Fire Marshall's Office. A lightning strike to a home is hard to miss - power will likely go out and residents will likely hear an explosion followed by a loud buzzing or hissing sound, fire officials said in a post. Officials warned residents who suspect lightning hit their home, or near their home, to first check for roof damage to prevent further water from entering the home. If smoke is detected, residents should evacuate immediately and call 911. There are multiple steps homeowners should take to ensure their home is safe after a suspected lightning strike. Fire officials said some of these steps can be done without professional help, but some may require a qualified service technician. Click through the photos above for helpful tips to follow after lightning strikes your home, or nearby your home... Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message