Wind Gusts Up To 60 Miles Per Hour Rocked The Airport Tuesday Night

A hangar leased by Jet Aviation at William P. Hobby Airport (KHOU) collapsed Tuesday night when the area was buffeted by winds up to 60 miles per hour.

Television station KPRC reports that Jet Aviation subleased the hangar to a company called Jet Linx. According to Houston Police Department Lt. Larry Crowson, no one was in the hangar when it collapsed, but as many as eight aircraft were damaged in the incident.

The National Weather Service confirmed that a phenomenon called a "microburst" hit the airport during storms on Tuesday. In such a scenario, wind descending out of a storm cell hits the ground and spreads out traveling at very high speeds. "It's just as damaging as a tornado," said NWS meteorologist Dan Reilly. Debris was found 200 yards south-southwest of the hangar, he said.

One runway was affected by the incident, but commercial operations went on as usual. Airport officials said that a fence would be installed to protect the runways from blowing debris, and that they would work with private entities to clean up any debris that could pose a threat to airplanes operating from the airport.

(Image from YouTube video posted by television KTVT)

FMI: Original report