HOUSTON On Sunday, a powerful storm system threatened to unleash tornadoes in parts of the United States Southeast, a day after severe weather killed at least two people in Texas and Mississippi.
Strong storms moving through the Southeast are expected to continue producing “gusty, damaging winds,” hail, and tornadoes until Sunday, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Pereira.
So far, the line of severe weather has resulted in approximately 40 tornado reports ranging from southeastern Texas to Alabama, according to Pereira, but these reports will not be confirmed until damage surveys 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 informed us. Storms will continue to slide east until they move offshore, reducing the risk of severe weather into Sunday evening.
On Saturday, one person died in the Liverpool area, which is south of Houston, Texas. According to Madison Polston of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office, four people were injured but not critically. Officials were aware of approximately ten 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 on Sunday for at least five tornadoes that struck north and south of the city on Saturday.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency reports that one person died in Adams County and two were injured in Franklin County.
The National Weather Service reported that two tornadoes struck Bude and Brandon, ripping roofs off several buildings.
It appeared that at least six tornadoes touched down in the Houston area, but more may be discovered when crews go out to assess damage. According to Josh Lichter, a National Weather Service meteorologist, tornadoes and straight-line winds caused damage in the area.
North of Houston, mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in Katy and Porter Heights, and a fire station’s doors were blown in, according to the weather service.
Storm damage has been reported in the northern Alabama town of Athens, located just northwest of Huntsville. According to meteorologist Chelly Amin, a National Weather Service survey team is expected to begin assessing damage on Sunday morning.
Holly Hollman, a spokeswoman for the city of Athens, said she lives about two blocks from downtown, which sustained the most damage from the early Sunday morning storms.
According to Hollman, the storm hurled large HVAC units from the tops of buildings, ripped the roof off a bookstore, and damaged a brick building next to a veteran’s museum. A full-sized, but stripped-down, military helicopter was toppled from a pole where it was on display, she said.
“I stepped out on my porch and I could hear it roar,” she told me. “I believe we are extremely fortunate that we were hit late at night. If it had hit during peak hours, I believe we would have had some injuries and possibly some fatalities.”
The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of the Deep South as the line of storms moved east through Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Wind gusts of 60 mph (97 kph) were predicted for the Spartanburg, South Carolina, area. Tree and powerline damage was expected in several counties, and some parts of the state were under a tornado watch.
According to electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us, nearly 65,000 Mississippi customers were without power as of 9 a.m. Sunday ET, down from 93,000 at 1 a.m. In Georgia, 54,000 customers were without power, while Alabama had 36,000, Louisiana had 20,000, and Texas had 13,000.
