Hundreds of power outages have been occurring this afternoon, caused by the windy weather traveling west across the Permian Basin.
Oncor Customer Operations Manager Gus Ortega said, as of 5 p.m., they had 657 customers lose power, and up to 2,500 customers temporarily lost power.
Ortega said to expect more outages this evening and that Oncor will have technicians out working overnight to get power running.
City of Odessa Spokeswoman Andrea Goodson said there have been two reported downed power lines due to the weather and three grass fires, and have had one reported structure fire since the weather began.
Goodson said all residents should stay inside if they can and use caution when traveling.
Odessa district of Texas Department of Transportation Spokesman Gene Powell said around 4 p.m. blowing dust had dramatically reduced visibility on U.S. Highway 285 north of Pecos and it was virtually impossible to see any approachable distance ahead. Powell stressed to avoid the area if at all possible.
The Midland/Odessa National Weather Service office said they expect the winds to keep blowing until around sunset or an hour after sunset, which is between 6 and 7 p.m. The office said they recorded wind gusts up to 57 knots at their office at Midland International Air and Space Port.
Elevated fire weather was expected through 6 p.m. today, NWS Midland/Odessa reported, with 45 to 55 mph gusts possible at times, reporting that the elevated fire weather was due to the strong winds, warm temperatures, low humidity and dry grasses and vegetation throughout West Texas.
