The severe weather threat is moving to the Southeast and East Coast after fierce tornado-spawning storms pummeled Texas and Mississippi, tearing through homes and leaving at least two people dead.
A high school student in Natchez, Mississippi, died after a tree fell onto a home, Adams County emergency officials said Saturday. Another person died in northern Brazoria County, Texas, where a tornado touched down in four different locations, according to Sheriff Bo Stallman.
Crews in the South were conducting searches and assessing the damage as severe storms took aim at the Southeast. Cities from north Florida to the Carolinas could see damaging wind gusts, large hail and possible tornadoes on Sunday.
“Severe thunderstorms and embedded heavy rainfall will affect most of the eastern states through Sunday,” the National Weather Service said.
Tornado watches are in place Sunday morning for parts of Southeast Louisiana, and into Alabama and parts of Florida and Tennessee, according to the weather service.
Multiple tornado sightings were reported Saturday as millions of Americans were under threat of strong twisters across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Long-track tornado churning through McCall Creek in southwest central Mississippi Saturday. In Porter, Texas, drone footage shows multiple houses with their roofs ripped off, splintered buildings and toppled trees.
More than 182,000 residents were without power Sunday morning accross Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. A majority of those outages were reported in Mississippi where nearly 85,000 customers were without power as of 2 a.m. ET.
Sever weather caused a partial power outage at Mississippi’s Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport, which resulted in delays and cancellations. The power outage has since been resolved, the airport said.
On Sunday, the severe storm spreads to the Southeast, the East Coast and parts of the mid-Atlantic. The area includes the cities of Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina.
A tornado touched down in multiple different locations within a small area in Brazoria County and had a quick impact, according to Sheriff Stallman.
“The damage has been extremely devastating,” he said.
Officials in Brazoria County were working to accommodate teachers and students at Walt Disney Elementary School, after it experienced storm damage, according to Manvel Mayor Dan Davis.
“Recovery efforts across the area have commenced and I’m grateful to live in a County where the people truly care about one another,” Davis said. “Over the next few days, properties will be cleared, power will be restored, and lives will start to be rebuilt. Please keep praying for all of those impacted!”
