CenterPoint expects to have power largely restored for customers who experienced outages, some for nearly a week, after Thursday's deadly storm hit greater Houston. The outages combined with rising temperatures prompted officials to open cooling centers for people looking to escape the heat. 

Many schools that had been closed for days in hard-hit districts resumed class, including in Houston ISD and Spring Branch ISD.

Follow along below for live updates on the aftermath of the storm. Here's a recap of Tuesday's coverage. To support our journalism, please consider subscribing to the Chronicle.

• Check our power outage tracker for real-time updates across Texas counties and Houston
• Here's a look at the widespread damage in the immediate aftermath of the storm 
• Check our interactive map for a look at current street hazards
• We want to hear from you. Tell us your storm experience

CenterPoint gives more detailed goal for restoring power 

CenterPoint Vice President Brad Tutunjian told Houston City Council Wednesday the energy company’s goal is to get 98% of users’ power back by Wednesday evening.

Even with 98% of customers restored, another 20,000 would still be without power, he explained. With the damage sustained to power lines during Thursday’s storm, Tutunjian said CenterPoint will likely work with those without power through the weekend to get them restored.

“We were ready to respond to a storm, but we were not ready to respond to a storm of this magnitude,” Tutunjian said.

At the height of the storm, 922,000 customers were without power. CenterPoint normally needs 24 hours or less to put together nine staging sites to work with 7,000 linemen and external and internal resources to restore 500 circuits, Tutunjian said, and utility workers have come from as far as New Mexico and Missouri to help get residents back online.

CenterPoint is looking at areas that typically lose power to examine how they could improve the energy infrastructure, Tutunjian said.

SNAP recipients can apply for funds to replace lost food

Recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can apply for replacement benefits for food lost or destroyed in last week’s storms.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday the Texas Health and Human Services Commission received federal approval for the public assistance allowance. Residents in the program living in Austin, Chambers, Colorado, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Walker, and Waller counties must apply for replacement benefits by June 17.

To apply for replacement benefits, dial 211 and select option 2. Officials will disburse replacement benefits onto recipient's Lone Star Cards within two business days of being approved. 

Beneficiaries outside of those counties can apply for replacement benefits at a local benefits office within 10 days of learning their food ended up being destroyed or lost as a result of the recent storms. 

Recipients can also download Form H1855 (Affidavit for Nonreceipt or Destroyed SNAP Benefits) and mail it to Texas Health and Human Services Commission, P.O. Box 149027, Austin, TX, 78714-9027 or fax it to 877-447-2839.

In addition to benefits, the HHSC will replace food and formula for those in the WIC program. For more information visit TexasWIC.org or call 800-942-3678. 

City council extends disaster declaration for Houston

Houston City Council voted unanimously to extend the city’s local disaster declaration for another year following Thursday’s derecho storm that left at least eight people dead and hundreds of thousands without power.

When a city declares disaster, it helps the area secure the state and federal aid and assistance it needs to recover. Local disaster declarations cannot continue past a week unless it is extended by the city’s council, according to the Texas Municipal League.

Mayor John Whitmire last signed a declaration May 17.

Houston and Harris County have already begun working to secure federal relief. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell met with Whitmire and other top officials in Houston and Harris County Monday to help set up sites residents can go to fill out applications for financial relief.

So far, 48,000 Texans have applied for relief from Thursday’s storm and FEMA has distributed $1 million. The city has also opened a derecho recovery fund to help Harris, Montgomery and Waller County’s most vulnerable residents with housing repairs and emergency financial assistance.

Houstonians share experiences during derecho storm

Caroline Helander recalls being in the kitchen preparing dinner for her family just before the derecho storm touched down in Houston last week. Thursday’s storm left widespread damage across the city and surrounding counties and resulted in at least eight deaths. 

An Instagram post in which the Chronicle asks people what they were doing when the deadly storm hit received hundreds of comments.

Read about resident's experiences here.

More than 3,500 storm-related open complaints filed

Since 6 p.m. on Thursday, Houston's 311 line has received several thousand complaints regarding street hazards, problems with traffic signals, electrical hazards and storm debris. There are currently more than 3,500 open complaints related to the storm.

Learn more by viewing our map showing current street hazards in Houston.

Future storms during hurricane season could impact gas prices

A “particularly intense” hurricane season is projected to bring 23 storms into the Atlantic this year, threatening to raise fuel prices if they hit Gulf Coast oil and gas operations, the Energy Department warned Wednesday.

Find out more in this story explaining how hurricane season could affect gas prices.

Recovery fund set up to help those impacted by weather

The Greater Houston Disaster Alliance will work with the Greater Houston Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Houston to open a Derecho Recovery Fund to help residents in need after recent storms.

Officials explained during Wednesday’s Houston City Council meeting that the funds will go toward helping Harris, Montgomery and Waller County’s most vulnerable residents impacted by severe weather like floods, tornadoes and flooding events from April 26 to May 17.

Around 75% of the funds will go toward helping residents repair their homes and secure resources. The other 25% will go toward emergency flexible financial assistance to residents, according to the fund website.

Houston does not have a set amount of money available under the fund, according to the mayor’s office, and the fund’s total amount will depend on donations received. Both CenterPoint and Comcast have each donated $500,000 to the effort. The current plan under the fund is to provide residents who apply up to $15,000 for home repair and up to $1,000 for emergency financial assistance.

To donate, Houstonians can visit www.derechofund.org. Those who need assistance are encouraged to call 211.

Centers, distribution sites available in hard-hit Harris County communities

Anyone still in need of food, air conditioning or a charging station can visit several centers around the Houston area. Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones provided a list of centers and distribution sites for Houstonians.

Distribution sites:

Bayland Community Center

6400 Bissonnet St., Houston, TX 77047

Radack Community Center

18650 Clay Road, Houston, TX 77084

Cooling and charging sites:

Bayland Community Center

6400 Bissonnet St., Houston, TX 77047

7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Burnett Bayland Community Center

6026 Chimney Rock Road, Houston, TX 77081

10 a.m.-8 p.m.

Glazier Community Center

16600 Pine Forest Lane, Houston, TX 77084

7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

Hockley Community Center

28515 Old Washington Road, Hockley, TX 77447

7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Mary Jo Peckham Aquatic & Fitness Center

5597 Gardenia Lane, Katy, TX 77493

7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Steve Radack Community Center

18650 Clay Road, Houston, TX 77084

7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Tracy Gee Community Center

3599 Westcenter Dr., Houston, TX 77042

7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Richard & Meg Weekley Community Center

8440 Greenhouse Road, Cypress, TX 77433

7:30 a.m.-9 p.m.

71K Houstonians without power as restoration nears substantial completion 

CenterPoint Energy anticipates having power restoration efforts in Houston substantially complete by the end of Wednesday. As of 6:40 a.m. Wednesday, the company's website showed 72,138 customers experiencing outages, with 213,012 customers getting their power restored within the previous 24 hours.

The company reported 90% of its customers had their power restored Tuesday night. Last week's severe storm caused outages for more than 900,000 people.As of Wednesday morning, more than 840,000 customers' power had been restored as the company worked during the aftermath of the storms, according to a news release. The company is anticipating having the power fully restored by this evening. 

Houston may see city’s highest temps of the year this week

Wednesday temperatures will be trapped in a roughly 10-degree window, with morning lows starting at a balmy 78 degrees and afternoon highs reaching 88 by 2 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. Humidity, though, has a firm grip on Southeast Texas, so the muggy air will make even those upper 80s feel more like a sticky 96 or 97 degrees.

Find out more about this week’s forecast here.