A twister formed over Texas on Wednesday night, flattening homes and killing a reported four people in the town of Matador. Several others were injured during the storm, according to the Lubbock Fire Department.

This tornado occurred just as other parts of the Gulf and central plains were struck by a line of severe weather. Colorado, Texas, Wyoming, and Nebraska all saw storm formations yesterday, CNN reported. The tornado that barreled through the Northern Texas town came with hurricane-force winds and baseball-sized hail, according to yesterday’s alert from the Storm Prediction Center.

The powerful winds shook homes, felled trees, and damaged power lines. More than 128,000 customers in the state are currently without power, according to Poweroutage.us. More storms may be on the horizon for the region. “Scattered to isolated thunderstorms will continue across the Great Plains on Friday with there being a Slight Risk of Severe Thunderstorms from eastern Wyoming and southwestern South Dakota down to western Texas,” stated an alert from the National Weather Service.

The extensive outages unfortunately come during the same week as a punishing heat wave that has cooked Gulf states this week. The heat and high energy demands have also strained Texas’ grid alongside recent storms, so much so that the grid’s operator asked people to cut their own power. “ERCOT has issued a Voluntary Conservation Notice for today from 4–8 p.m. due to extreme heat & forecasted record demand,” the Electric Reliability Council of Texas tweeted earlier this week.

The heat waves will persist into this weekend due to the high pressure in the area. “Daytime temperatures in the 100s and 110s and heat index values in excess of that, followed by nighttime temps in the 70s and 80s, will be relentless on those who are exposed outside for too long,” today’s NWS alert said.

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