One person was killed and more than a dozen were injured when tornadoes tore through parts of Texas and Oklahoma, damaging a school, homes and businesses, before the storm system continued its destructive path into Louisiana and Mississippi.
High winds uprooted trees in Ridgeland, Mississippi, as a possible tornado passed the city on Tuesday afternoon, but there were no immediate reports of any injuries or serious damage to buildings.
Campus police at Mississippi State University in Starkville shared a photo of a large hardwood tree lying across a street.
Forecasters issued multiple tornado warnings for the state, and alerts spread into Alabama as the line of storms moved east. More than 90,000 homes and businesses were left without power from Texas to Mississippi.
A tornado watch has been issued for southeastern Louisiana and southern/central Mississippi until 7 PM CDT. Tornadoes (some strong) and damaging winds (some 75+ mph) are the main threats this afternoon and early evening. Large hail may also occur. pic.twitter.com/hZ7nUk3kDA
Advertisement— NWS Storm Prediction Center (@NWSSPC) March 22, 2022
Many schools were closed early or cancelled after-school activities on Tuesday in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi to allow students to get home before the weather deteriorated.
Shelters opened for residents who needed a place to stay while the storms travelled through.
High water posed a threat to motorists in Louisiana on several roads, including a stretch of Interstate 20 and several state highways after rain overnight, authorities said.
Deputies in Caddo Parish, which includes Shreveport, rescued three drivers from high waters during the night, the sheriff’s office said.
The storms were expected to intensify throughout the day, increasing the threat of tornadoes, hail and strong winds.
Forecasters predicted intense tornadoes and damaging winds, some hurricane-force with speeds of 75mph or greater, in much of Mississippi, southern and eastern Louisiana, and western Alabama.
Baton Rouge in Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi, were among the cities at risk of bad weather.
Louisiana’s federal and state authorities reminded thousands of hurricane survivors living in government-provided mobile homes and recreational vehicle trailers to have an evacuation plan because the structures might not withstand the expected weather.
More than 8,000 households live in such temporary quarters, officials said.
In Texas, several tornadoes were reported on Monday along the Interstate 35 corridor, particularly in the Austin suburbs of Round Rock and Elgin, and close to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.
Two unconfirmed tornadoes caused damage in the Lake Texoma area of northern Texas and southern Oklahoma.
The tornadoes came on a wild weather day in Texas — wildfires burned in the west and a blizzard warning was issued for the Texas Panhandle, where up to 9in of snow fell.
“There’s absolutely nothing out of the ordinary in terms of what we saw yesterday and we see today,” said Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University, who studies severe storms.
It is the time of year when tornadoes and storms are to be expected and there are usually more during years with a La Nina, a natural cooling of parts of the Pacific that alters weather across the globe, he said.
The biggest concern remains tornadoes that strike at night, Mr Gensini said.
More than a dozen people were reported injured due to the tornadoes in Texas, including 10 in Grayson County, about 60 miles north of Dallas, the county’s emergency management office said.
A 73-year-old woman who lived in the community of Sherwood Shores died in the storm, but officials have not provided any details.
Homes and businesses in at least a dozen Texas counties were damaged, according to Storm Prediction Centre reports.
