Tornadoes in Texas and Mississippi kill 2 and injure 6 as severe weather system moves east

[December 30, 2024]  HOUSTON (AP) — A strong storm system threatened to whip up tornadoes in parts of the U.S. Southeast on Sunday, a day after severe weather claimed at least two lives as twisters touched down in Texas and Mississippi.

Strong storms moving across the Southeast are expected to continue producing “gusty, damaging winds,” hail and tornadoes through Sunday, National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Pereira said. So far, the line of severe weather has led to about 40 tornado reports from southeastern Texas to Alabama, Pereira said, but those reports remain unconfirmed until surveys of damage are completed.

“It’s not unheard of but it is fairly uncommon to have a severe weather outbreak of this magnitude this late in the year,” he said. The storms will continue to slide east until they eventually move offshore, meaning severe weather risks will dwindle into Sunday evening.

On Saturday, one person died in the Liverpool area, located south of Houston, Texas. Four people suffered injuries that were not considered critical, according to Madison Polston of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office. Officials knew of around 10 damaged homes but were working to determine the extent of the damage, Polston said.

In the Houston area, National Weather Service crews planned to conduct surveys Sunday for at least five tornados that hit north and south of the city on Saturday.

In Mississippi, one person died in Adams County and two people were injured in Franklin County, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

The National Weather Service said two tornadoes hit around Bude and the city of Brandon, ripping roofs from several buildings.

It appeared at least six tornadoes touched down in the Houston area, though more may be discovered when crews go out to survey the damage. There was damage in the area from both tornadoes and straight-line winds, according to Josh Lichter, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

North of Houston, mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in Katy and Porter Heights, where the doors of a fire station were blown in, the weather service said.

First responders work to free a victim after a tree fell on a house in Natchez, Miss., Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (Thomas Graning/The Natchez Democrat via AP)

Storm damage has been reported in the northern Alabama town of Athens, just northwest of Huntsville. A National Weather Service survey team was expected to begin assessing damage Sunday morning, said meteorologist Chelly Amin.

Holly Hollman, spokeswoman for the city of Athens, said she lives about two blocks from downtown — where most of the damage from the early Sunday morning storms occurred.

Hollman said the storm hurled large HVAC units from the tops of building, ripped the roof off a bookstore and damaged a brick building adjacent to a veteran’s museum. A full-sized, yet stripped down, military helicopter was toppled from a pole where it was on display, she added.

“I stepped out on my porch and I could hear it roar,” she said. “I think we are extremely lucky that we got hit late at night. If it had hit during the busy hours, I think we might have had some injuries and possibly some fatalities.”

The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings across portions of the Deep South as the line of storms barreled east through Alabama, Georgia and into South Carolina. Wind gusts of 60 mph (97 kph) were expected in the Spartanburg, South Carolina, area. Damage to trees and powerlines was expected in a number of counties, while a tornado watch was in effect for some parts of the state.

At 9 a.m. Sunday ET, nearly 65,000 customers were without power in Mississippi, down from 93,000 around 1 a.m., according to electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us. Some 54,000 customers were without power in Georgia; 36,000 in Alabama; 20,000 in Louisiana; and 13,000 in Texas.

All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved