A powerful storm system swept across the United States on Tuesday, causing fatalities, property damage, and widespread disruptions, The Associated Press reports.
The severe weather included tornadoes, dust storms, blizzards, and high winds, impacting communities from the Southwest to the Midwest and Southeast.
Two fatalities were reported in Mississippi, according to Governor Tate Reeves. WAPT-TV reported that one death occurred in Madison County due to a downed power line, while another person died in the same county when a tree fell on their vehicle.
In Oklahoma, the storm system tore the roofs off an apartment building and a nursing home in an unidentified town. Preliminary information from the National Weather Service indicated a tornado touched down in Ada, Oklahoma, a city of 16,000 residents.
Tornadoes were also reported in Irving, Texas, with winds up to 110 mph, as well as in Louisiana’s northern Caddo Parish, and at least five in eastern Oklahoma.
The storm system brought other extreme weather conditions across the nation, including blinding dust storms in the Southwest and blizzard conditions in the Midwest. The high winds forced adjustments to Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, with the two largest parades moved up and shortened.
As of Tuesday evening, widespread power outages were reported across multiple states, with over 178,000 customers without power in Texas, approximately 23,000 in Louisiana, 18,000 in Mississippi, 88,000 in Alabama, 16,000 in Oklahoma, and 23,000 in Tennessee, according to PowerOutage.us. More outages were anticipated as the storm system moved eastward.
The National Weather Service reported that a line of storms was racing across Mississippi and Louisiana, headed towards Alabama, producing wind gusts up to 70 mph.
