At least 2 dead after severe weather moved through Mississippi and eastern Texas, officials say
By Robert Shackelford, Dalia Faheid, Alaa Elassar, Elisa Raffa, Sarah Dewberry, Amanda Musa, Emma Tucker and Ashley R. Williams, CNN
(CNN) — At least two people have died as severe storms and tornadoes tore through parts of Texas and Mississippi on Saturday, officials said, while a parade of atmospheric river-fueled storms batters the West.
One person died in northern Brazoria County, Texas, where four others were non-critically injured, Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Madison Polston told CNN Saturday. Brazoria County is about 45 miles south of Houston.
“We are still conducting secondary searches and going through and ensuring that all the residents are accounted for,” Polston said. “At this point we don’t expect there to be additional fatalities.”
The other fatality was a high school student in Natchez, Mississippi, who died after a tree fell on a home, according to Adams County Emergency Management spokesperson Neifa Hardy.
“Adams County is reporting one home in Natchez that has been destroyed or collapsed, with one individual deceased and two injured,” Malary White, Mississippi Emergency Management director of external affairs, told CNN.
Nearly 7 million Americans are currently under a tornado watch, including more than 2 million people in parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, where one such watch was upgraded to a rare “particularly dangerous situation.” The watch calls for “numerous strong tornadoes” until 9 p.m. CST, according to the National Weather Service.
This is a special kind of tornado watch, issued only when there’s unusually high confidence in the potential of multiple, long-lived tornadoes of EF2-strength or stronger in the area, according to the weather service. In this case, “several EF0-EF2 tornadoes are anticipated, and a few intense (EF3+) tornadoes are likely,” said the Storm Prediction Center.
“An outbreak of severe storms with tornadoes, wind damage, and large hail is expected from parts of the Southern Plains, into the Lower Mississippi Valley and central Gulf Coast states,” the National Weather Service said. “Several long track tornadoes are expected.”
The weather service on Saturday evening issued an additional tornado watch impacting 3.5 million people for parts of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi through 2 a.m. CST.
At 12:23 p.m. CST, the weather service confirmed a tornado was reported on the ground near Cleveland, about 45 miles northeast of Houston. The tornado, which was witnessed on the ground before it lifted back up, was moving northeast at 35 mph, NWS said.
Another reported tornado was spotted in Katy, Texas, about 30 miles west of Houston, as seen in footage posted on Facebook.
The strongest tornadoes could bring “widespread damaging winds” into Saturday evening, the weather service said. The Storm Prediction Center has increased the tornado risk to a level 4 of 5 moderate risk of severe weather across parts of central Louisiana, Mississippi, and western Alabama.
Supercell storms continue to be capable of producing intense tornadoes, widespread damaging winds of up to 80 mph and golf ball-size hail.
“Numerous severe/supercell thunderstorms are expected to intensify through the afternoon over east Texas and western Louisiana, spreading rapidly northeastward across the watch through early evening. Parameters are becoming increasingly favorable for tornadoes, including strong tornadoes, and widespread damaging winds through the watch period,” said the Storm Prediction Center.
Tornadoes are much less common in the US during December, averaging only around 40 – compared to the nearly 270 seen on average in May. This year, however, there have been 1,783 tornado reports as of December 27 – well above the average of 1,347 reports.
The threat shifts Sunday to the Southeast and the East Coast – where tornado-spawning storms are possible in Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia. Rain from this storm could lead to some minor travel delays in the East Coast.
Meanwhile in the West, a continued series of atmospheric river-fueled storms is delivering more rounds of dangerous waves, powerful winds, heavy rainfall and thick mountain snowfall across the Pacific Northwest and Rockies this weekend. An additional 4 to 6 inches or more rain and 1 to 2 feet of mountain snow is likely.
Tornadoes tear through homes
Omar Godoy, who lives in Katy where a confirmed tornado was spotted, was watching the tornado thriller film “Twister” with his nephew when they received an alert, CNN affiliate KHOU reported.
When he stepped outside to check, he saw a tornado heading toward him.
“You see debris going in circles and the funnel coming down,” Godoy told KHOU. “It’s scary, but it’s nature.”
Godoy and his nephew hid in the closet for three minutes as they felt the house shake. When they emerged, they noticed the tornado had damaged the fence and roof, and other homes in their neighborhood.
“It was three minutes, but it was a scary three minutes,” Godoy said, adding this is the third tornado to impact their neighborhood this year.
Katt Lomison said she feels blessed to be alive after her subdivision in Porter, Texas, suffered severe storm damage on Saturday. She was in her backyard when she saw on the news there was a potential tornado in her area.
“I got my hallway ready, and I went outside, and then I just felt the wind come down and go in a circle with the rain, and I’m like, ‘Oh crap,’” Lomison said.
After the storm passed, Lomison discovered her shed was flattened and trees were down throughout the neighborhood.
One house at the end of her street “is like gone,” she said. “The next one, the roof is completely off. Electrical poles are down on Porter Lane,” she continued. “It just kept going, causing so much destruction.”
Drone video captured storm damage in Porter and showed multiple houses and buildings with severe roof and structural damage.
Daniel Davis, the mayor of Manvel in Brazoria County – where the one person was confirmed dead – told CNN a tornado touched down east of Manvel near Liverpool, destroying multiple homes, schools and businesses.
“There are a lot of people without power, and especially over in that area and the county, while people are on wells and septic,” Davis said. “So when they’re without power, they’re also without water.”
A tornado in Brazoria County had a “quick and devastating impact,” Sheriff Bo Stallman told CNN, touching down in four different locations.
The tornado stayed “within a small square mile vicinity,” but its damage was “extremely devastating,” Stallman said. “These are just really hard to plan for because they develop so fast,” he added.
When asked whether people had enough time to take shelter before the tornado’s impact, the sheriff said, “That’s the problem with tornadoes is that there’s not a whole lot of planning or preparation for these types of events.”
From eastern Texas to western Georgia, cities like Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, New Orleans and Birmingham could also see an isolated chance of tornadoes as well as damaging wind gusts and large hail.
“The threat area will shift eastward from parts of north and central Texas early, across east Texas and the lower Mississippi Valley today, then over the Tennessee Valley, parts of Georgia, and the central Gulf Coast tonight,” says the Storm Prediction Center.
As daytime heat and humidity fuels more storms, these supercells could be capable of several tornadoes, some of which could be strong and violent. By the late evening and overnight, these storms will form into a line of severe storms capable of widespread wind damage and embedded tornadoes.
Videographer Jonathan Petramala captured footage that showed a violent, long-track tornado ripping through McCall Creek in southwest central Mississippi. In the video, a woman is seen carrying her crying granddaughter.
The little girl was next door with her parents hiding in their bathroom when the tornado hit, tearing off their roof, Petramala told CNN. The footage showed dozens of uprooted trees and multiple severely damaged homes.
On Sunday, the severe storm threat weakens as it 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 lower severe storm threat spreads from the Florida Panhandle to southwestern Pennsylvania. Cities that could see some damaging wind gusts and a chance of tornadoes include Atlanta, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh and Virginia Beach.
Waves up to 30 feet expected along California coast
Travelers trying to return home and those with layovers in the Pacific Northwest might need to allot extra travel time and monitor later legs in their journey on the final weekend of 2024 as atmospheric river-fueled storms bring more unsettled weather.
“The revolving door of mid-latitude cyclones propagating through the Pacific Northwest is likely to continue through the rest of the weekend,” the National Weather Service said.
The storms are expected to lash California’s coast with massive waves.
The latest storm of the series is expected to move onshore Saturday, bringing dangerously high waves and powerful rip currents across the West Coast – making for dangerous conditions for swimmers.
The worst coastal conditions are expected across the Pacific Northwest Coastlines and across the Bay Area, where waves up to 30 feet are possible over the weekend. High waves up to 15 feet could be seen as far south as the Malibu coast and across Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
“Dangerous swimming and surfing conditions and localized beach erosion can be expected. Large waves can sweep across the beach without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches. Sudden immersion in cold water can result in cold water shock even for the most experienced swimmers,” the weather service warns.
High winds are expected to continue to blow across parts of the Pacific Northwest and the Rockies, where high wind alerts are in place. Winds gusting over 75 mph are possible, which could topple trees and power lines.
“Widespread power outages are expected,” warns the weather service. “Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles, including areas along Highway 395 and Highway 95 near Walker Lake.”
Winter weather alerts are in place across parts of the Cascades, Sierra Nevada and Rockies as rounds of moisture continue to impact the West. Snowfall of 6 to 18 inches and gusts potentially over 70 mph could reduce visibility and make travel nearly impossible.
Along with the snowfall, avalanche warnings have been issued for the mountains of northern Utah, including the Wasatch Range and Bear River Range. “Very dangerous avalanche conditions are expected to develop on many slopes,” warns the Utah Avalanche Center.
Heavy rainfall is expected along the coastal portions of the Pacific Northwest and across the lower elevations of the Cascades. An additional 4 inches of rainfall is possible through the weekend, which could bring storm totals to nearly 10 inches.
CNN’s Tyler Mauldin contributed to this report.
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