At least 4 dead as severe weather outbreak wreaks havoc across Southeast U.S.
A severe weather outbreak wreaked havoc across the southeastern United States over the weekend, leaving at least four people dead, causing widespread destruction, and cutting power to thousands of homes and businesses on Sunday, December 29, 2024.
- At least four people have been reported dead and more than 10 injured, as severe weather outbreak with strong winds and tornadoes ranging from EF-0 to EF-3 swept through Texas, Mississippi, and other southeastern states.
- Over 600 000 people lost power due to the storms, but most of the outages had been resolved by Monday, December 30.
At least four people have been reported dead after a severe weather outbreak accompanied by strong winds and tornadoes ravaged the southeastern United States, leaving hundreds of thousands without power on Sunday and grounding some 600 flights.
Several tornadoes, ranging from EF-0 to EF-3, were reported across Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and other parts of the Southeast, starting Friday, December 27.
The tornadoes caused widespread damage across the affected regions, blowing off roofs, flipping vehicles, and downing trees and powerlines throughout the Southeast. Several trailer homes were overturned in Mississippi.
On Saturday, December 28, the NWS Storm Prediction Center received 45 tornado reports from the Southeast, with 19 of them occurring in Mississippi.
NWS Weather Prediction Center meteorologist Frank Pereira said that severe weather outbreaks of this magnitude so late in the year are fairly uncommon, but not unheard of.
A deadly EF-2 tornado between Liverpool and Hillcrest Village around 12:57 local time (LT) with peak winds of around 201 km/h (125 mph).
The twister had a maximum path width of 275 m (300 yards) and was on the ground for 14.1 km (8.78 miles), destroying multiple homes between Alvin and Liverpool and leaving substantial debris on parts of SH 35.
1 death and 5 injuries have been reported so far with this tornado.
Storm survey shows it tracked along Co Road 172 in rural Brazoria County into Hillcrest. EF-0 and EF-1 damage was observed along most of the tornado’s track. The most significant damage was surveyed at Walt Disney Elementary School, which suffered serious damage to the majority of its roof structure.
An EF-3 tornado was reported near Porter Heights, Texas at 12:05 LT, with a path length of over 16 km (10 miles) and peak winds reaching 225 km/h (140 mph).
The tornado had a maximum width of 1 500 m (1 675 yards) and was on the ground for 16.6 km (10.34 miles). The majority of its track showed high-end EF-1 and low-end EF-2 damage, with just one spot of EF-3 near the start.
A long-track EF-3 tornado struck Chambers County, Texas at 14:35 LT, injuring one person and covering a path length of around 35 km (22 miles), with peak winds of 222 km/h (138 mph).
The tornado touched down just east of Smith Point and went through the Chambers/Jefferson County border.
Multiple spots of EF-2 damage were observed, with snapped wooden power line poles and a tossed and destroyed mobile home along with EF-3 damage along FM 1941 and TX-124 where two steel transmission lines were blown down.
One injury was reported along Smith Point Rd where a pickup truck was tossed.
In Mississippi, an 18-year-old was killed in Natchez, and two others were injured when a falling tree struck a home on West Wood Road.
Another person was reported dead in Lowndes County. The cause of death is still not clear.
Additional damage was reported in southern Mississippi, where a large tornado passed through the town of Bude around 15:22 LT, overturning several trailer homes. One person was injured here.
The fourth fatality report is coming from North Carolina where a 70-year-old man was killed Sunday in Statesville, when a tree landed on the pickup truck he was driving. Highway Patrol Trooper DJ Maffucci described it as a freak accident.
Over 600 000 people across the Southeast were without power on Sunday morning. However, power had been restored across most of the affected regions by Monday, December 30.
There were over 600 flight delays affecting Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday afternoon, according to flight tracker FlightAware.
This severe weather outbreak is now over.
Read more:
References:
1 Public Information Statement – NWS – December 29, 2024
2 Storm system with multiple tornadoes rips through U.S. South, killing 4 – Washington Post – December 29, 2024
3 4 killed in a storm system that spawned tornadoes across the southern U.S. – AP – December 30, 2024
Featured image: Tornado in Bude, Mississippi. Image credit: The Storm Chasing Channel (stillshot)
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules.