About 4,000 high-rise building windows shattered in downtown Houston from recent storms

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Recent storms have shattered approximately 4,000 windows in downtown buildings, according to the Houston Downtown Management District.

The affected buildings include the Chevron Building, Pennzoil Tower, Bank of America Building, Wells Fargo Plaza, and Hyatt Regency Downtown.

Raudel Avila, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Rice University, explained, “The building arrangement creates tunnels, so the wind speeds are very, very high.” These tunnels can significantly increase wind pressure.

The shattered windows are primarily located on the east and west sides of the buildings, with some angled upward, like one in the Pennzoil Tower. The damage is found both at the top and bottom of these buildings.

Avila noted, “There’s a huge variability between the orientation of the windows, the direction of the winds, and how the material deforms.” Factors contributing to the windows shattering include brittle glass, flying debris, and high wind pressure. “When you apply some sort of pressure to the glass, it requires very minimal deformation before it completely shatters,” he said.

For safety, streets around the affected buildings are closed for an undetermined period. The closures include:

– Smith from Clay to Pease
– Andrews from Smith to Shaw
– Shaw to Ruthven
– Bell from Milam to Smith
– Louisiana from Pease to Clay, and from Polk to McKinney
– Dallas from Smith to Milam
– Lamar from Milam to Smith
– McKinney from Smith to Milam
– Milam from Capitol to Rusk
– Travis from Lamar to McKinney (partially closed)
– Travis from Franklin to Commerce