Texas

Tornadoes touch down in Texas and Mississippi, killing two and injuring six others

Published

1 year ago

December 28, 2024

Tornadoes touch down in Texas and Mississippi, killing two and injuring six others

At least two people have died and six more are injured after several tornadoes touched down in Texas and Mississippi, damaging homes and flipping vehicles.

HOUSTON (AP) — At least two people were killed and six more injured as several tornadoes touched down in Texas and Mississippi on Saturday, damaging homes and flipping vehicles.

One person died in the Liverpool area, located south of Houston, and four people suffered injuries that weren’t considered critical, said Madison Polston, spokesperson for the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office.

Polston said there were “multiple touchdown points” in the county between Liverpool and Hillcrest Village and Alvin. She said that so far officials knew of around 10 damaged homes but were still working to determine the extent of the damage.

In Mississippi, one person died in Adams County and two people were injured in Franklin County, according to a spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

“These storms are probably going to get a lot worse this evening and overnight the further east you go,” said Josh Lichter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

It appeared that at least six tornadoes touched down in the Houston area, though they may discover there were more when crews go out to survey the damage, Litcher said. He said there was damage in the area from both tornadoes and straight-line winds.

North of Houston, mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in Katy and Porter Heights, where the doors of a fire station were blown in, the weather service said.

The storms also caused departure delays of over an hour Saturday afternoon at Houston’s two main airports — Bush Intercontinental and Hobby — according to the website FlightAware.

About 71,000 utility customers were without power in Mississippi, and that number was expected to rise, said Malary White, chief communications officer for the state’s Emergency Management Agency.

The agency did not have any official damage reports but expected them to come in later. First responders were focused on ensuring people’s safety and making sure everyone was accounted for, according to White.

“We do anticipate more thorough damage assessments starting in the early morning hours,” she said.

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Texas

Chart: Solar is finally bigger than coal in Texas

Published

3 hours ago

January 16, 2026

Press Room

Chart: Solar is finally bigger than coal in Texas

Texas just hit a huge milestone: It got more electricity from solar than it did from coal last year, a first for the second-biggest state in the country.

That’s a big shift from a few years prior. Back in 2020, the Texas grid got just 2% of its electricity from solar power and 18% from coal, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the grid for the vast majority of the state. In 2025, nearly 14% of ERCOT’s electricity came from solar — and just under 13% was produced by burning coal.

It makes sense that solar has taken off in Texas. Two things it has in spades are sunshine and land, and ERCOT’s competitive markets and fast interconnection processes are appealing to solar developers. In recent years, the state’s solar boom helped create one of the nation’s hottest markets for grid batteries, which in turn has strengthened the business case for installing even more solar.

Meanwhile, coal has been declining in Texas for more than a decade, knocked off balance first by a combination of fracked gas and cheap wind power.

Overall, however, fossil fuels still produce the majority of Texas’s electricity. The state got 54% of its power last year from coal and gas, with the latter fuel serving as Texas’ biggest source of electricity by a long shot.

It’s worth noting that solar beat out coal in what was a comeback year for the fossil fuel, in Texas and beyond. After two years of declines, coal generation jumped by 8% in Texas in 2025. But because solar grew so fast — by a staggering 41% last year — the clean-energy source eclipsed coal anyway.

Not everyone in Texas is happy about the rising tide of solar.

Some state Republicans have tried and failed, several times now, to limit the growth of clean energy. Instead, they’d like to see the construction of natural gas plants to meet the state’s surging electricity demand. But Texas faces the same reality as the rest of the country: Solar and storage are simply too cheap and easy to deny.

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Texas

Texas Longhorns Add Major Piece to Offensive Line From Transfer Portal

Published

15 hours ago

January 15, 2026

Press Room

Texas Longhorns Add Major Piece to Offensive Line From Transfer Portal

The Texas Longhorns are making a major addition to their offensive line through the transfer portal once again.

And no, it’s not quite yet a commitment from Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton.

However, Texas is still beefing up its offensive line in a massive way.

Texas Lands Wake Forest OT Transfer Melvin Siani

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian and team gesture after the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Per report from On3’s Hayes Fawcett, Texas has landed a commitment from Wake Forest offensive lineman transfer Melvin Siani, who has reportedly already signed with the team. He allowed just nine pressures and zero sacks on 858 snaps at left tackle this season, per CJ Vogel of OnTexasFootball.

Siani’s commitment to Texas comes only a few hours after he entered the portal on Thursday with a “do not contact” tag. The Longhorns moved in quickly and got the deal done.

Siani started his college career at Temple, where he appeared in 15 games with nine starts for the Owls during the 2023 and ’24 seasons.

He then transferred to Wake Forest last offseason and played just one year for the Demon Deacons before hitting the portal again.

Siani now joins a Texas portal class that features Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman, NC State running back Hollywood Smothers, LSU lineman Zion Williams, Arizona State running back Raleek Brown, Pitt linebacker Rasheem Biles, Florida State linebacker Justin Cryer, Oregon State offensive lineman Dylan Sikorski, Texas A&M offensive lineman Jonte Newman, Michigan State tight end Michael Masunas and Arkansas defensive end Ian Geffrard.

Additionally, the Longhorns added three players to their special teams unit in Memphis kicker Gianni Spetic, Florida State punter Mac Chiumento and New Mexico long snapper Trey Dubuc.

What This Means for Texas’ Pursuit of Jordan Seaton

Colorado Buffalos offensive tackle Jordan Seaton against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

All eyes remain on the decision of Colorado offensive lineman transfer Jordan Seaton, who is currently the top player available in the portal with the transfer window nearing a close.

Some fans might think that Siani’s addition means the Longhorns are out on Seaton, but that’s not necessarily the case quite yet. Time will tell how things play out in that regard.

Texas still has a visit set with Seaton in Austin on Friday and will need to close the deal to avoid a team like the Oregon Ducks pouncing on the Colorado transfer. The Longhorns are also hosting Jacksonville State offensive tackle Mason Barton for a visit.

Siani’s commitment is still big for Texas when it comes to adding another body to an offensive line room where the depth is thin, but Seaton remains the priority for the Longhorns.

Texas has already retained multiple important names on the offensive line, including offensive tackle Trevor Goosby and center Connor Robertson, but have also lost offensive lineman Nick Brooks.

But regardless of what happenes with Seaton, Texas can feel good about its depth with Siani, Newman and Sikorski joining the fold.

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Texas hands No. 10 Vanderbilt its first loss of the season with a dominant win

Published

1 day ago

January 15, 2026

Press Room

Texas hands No. 10 Vanderbilt its first loss of the season with a dominant win

AUSTIN — Matas Vokietaitis scored 22 points, Tramon Mark added 21, and Texas handed No. 10 Vanderbilt its first loss the season, 80-64 on Wednesday night.

Dailyn Swain had 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Longhorns (11-6, 2-2 Southeastern Conference), who have consecutive victories over AP Top 25 teams, having beaten then-No. 13 Alabama on Saturday.

Mark scored 16 points in the second half including consecutive 3-poiners that pushed Texas ahead by nine midway through the half.

Chendall Weaver made a fast-break layup and two free throws to give Texas a 12-point lead with 6:27 left. Then Mark made two free throws to extend the lead to 14 with 5:37 left.

Mark is averaging 19.8 points in SEC games, hitting 11 of 23 3-point shots. He was 4 for 7 against Vanderbilt.

Duke Miles led Vanderbilit (16-1, 3-1) with 21 points and Tyler Tanner had 17. But Vanderbilt shot just 26.7% from the field in the second half, finishing the game at 36.7%.

Vanderbilt, a good 3-point shooting team, missed nine of 10 in the second half after making 8 of 15 in the first half.

Texas shot 53%, including 7 for 17 on 3-pointers.

The Longhorns led 42-37 after a fast-paced first half for both teams. Miles made three 3-point baskets and had 14 in the half. Tanner added 10.

The Longhorns shot 55% in the half, scoring 18 points in the paint, thanks to Vokietaitis and Swain, who combined for seven baskets inside. Vokietaitis also made all four of his free throws, finishing with 12 points in the half. Jordan Pope also scored 12.