Officials were beginning to assess the damage on Sunday after a strong storm system moved across the southeastern U.S. over the weekend, killing at least two people when tornadoes touched down in Texas and Mississippi.
The line of severe weather led to about 40 tornado reports from southeastern Texas to Alabama, National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Pereira said, but those reports remain unconfirmed 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 said. The storms will continue to slide east until they eventually move offshore, meaning severe weather risks will dwindle into Sunday evening.
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. At least one person died.
The 48-year-old woman killed was found about 100 feet (30 meters) from her home in the Liverpool area, located south of Houston, said Madison Polston of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office. She said the exact cause of death wasn’t immediately known.
Four other people in Brazoria County suffered injuries that weren’t considered critical, said Polston, who added that at least 40 homes and buildings were significantly damaged in the county.
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.
Storm damage was 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, 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.”
At 9 a.m. Sunday, 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. Also without power were some 54,000 customers in Georgia; 36,000 in Alabama; 20,000 in Louisiana; and 13,000 in Texas.
Two roads were closed in western North Carolina — a region broadly devastated by Hurricane Helene this fall — as of late Sunday morning because of severe weather, North Carolina Department of Transportation spokesperson Jamie Kritzer said.
Part of U.S. 441, also known as the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway, was closed in both directions in Swain County north of Bryson City, due to high winds. It was expected to reopen on Monday. Another road in Macon County near Franklin — State Road 1672, also known as River Road — was closed Sunday morning due to high water and was slated to reopen Sunday afternoon.
The storms moved quickly through Georgia, where there were reports of trees toppled in the Atlanta area.
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Associated Press reporters Corey Williams and Julie Walker also contributed to this report.
