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Houston Xfinity Outage Sparks Chaos Amid Storm Threats and Vandalism Probe

Globexfeed

— 2 min read

As storms loom over Houston, thousands of residents found themselves suddenly disconnected. An unexpected Xfinity internet outage—attributed to suspected vandalism—has left much of the city scrambling, raising concerns about public safety at a critical time. With hurricane season around the corner, the downed services have stirred not only frustration but also fear, as access to vital weather updates was cut off just when people needed it most.

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When Internet Fails During a Storm

On the morning of May 2, 2025, residents across Houston began reporting widespread Xfinity outages. Networks were down across major zones—including Port Houston terminals—and severe disruption to internet services began to ripple through businesses, homes, and government systems alike. Even more alarming was the outage's effect on the National Weather Service (NWS) radar, which temporarily lost its ability to transmit real-time alerts and data to external platforms just as storm activity intensified in the region.

The Timeline of a City Disrupted

Here’s how the situation unfolded across the day:

  • Morning, May 2: Initial reports surfaced of Xfinity service failures across Houston, including key commercial areas like Downtown and Port Houston’s container terminals.
  • 12:08 PM CDT: Comcast announced a service restoration goal of 4:00 PM CDT.
  • 12:20 PM CDT: Port Houston confirmed terminal connectivity had been restored.
  • Afternoon: Comcast officially reported that the outage was caused by deliberate acts of vandalism to their telecommunications infrastructure.
  • Ongoing: The NWS radar remains hampered. While still functional locally, it relies on support from neighboring radar offices to transmit alerts to the public.

Criminal Acts Behind the Connectivity Crisis

This wasn’t a typical outage caused by weather or technical maintenance—it was human-made.

"We have determined the major cause of this widespread outage was several back-to-back acts of suspected vandalism to our telecommunication lines."

—Comcast Spokesperson (source)

This chilling discovery has prompted a criminal investigation into the matter, with Comcast closely cooperating with local authorities. The community is left shocked—just one act of sabotage can unplug an entire metropolitan region.

Storms and Silence: A Dangerous Mix

With severe weather threatening the region, the impact on emergency alerts wasn’t just inconvenient—it was potentially life-threatening.

"The radar is working, but because of the outage [...] it is unable to push out the data, watches, and warnings to other parties like news stations and apps."

—National Weather Service Houston (source)

This meant thousands were being kept in the dark about urgent weather changes, relying instead on neighboring radar feeds and social media updates. Fortunately, resilience and collaboration kicked in, with backup systems mitigating some of the risks.

Good News Amid the Gloom

Port Houston managed a relatively swift recovery.

"The outage that affected both container terminals had been resolved."

—Port Houston (source)

Meanwhile, repair crews worked tirelessly across Houston to restore full connectivity. NWS radar support came in from neighboring cities, ensuring minimum gaps in critical weather reporting.

Stay Informed with These Resources

For those still affected or seeking updates, these resources may prove invaluable:

Conclusion

✔️ A major Xfinity outage driven by vandalism disrupted internet across Houston during critical storm alerts
✔️ Residents felt frustrated and anxious, with emergency systems and radar feeds affected, but city teams and infrastructure rose to the challenge

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