Tornadoes tore through Southern states on Thursday night, resulting in four fatalities and dozens injured in Texas and Florida, according to ABC. Here’s what happened and which areas are predicted to experience severe weather over the weekend.
The news: CNN reported that three people died in Perryton, Texas, Thursday and over 100 people from the town were taken to the hospital with a range of injuries after a tornado struck the town. One person from Pensacola, Florida, died after being trapped under a tree that fell on their home.
- Two people from Perrytown are unaccounted for as of Friday morning, BBC reported.
- Around 200 homes are estimated to have been damaged in the storm, AccuWeather stated. The hospital in Perrytown was without power as of Friday morning, relying on generators to stay fully operational.
- Additional tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma, Alabama and Georgia on Thursday night, according to BBC.
Key quote: “Keep praying for Perryton. We were hit hard!” the Perryton Fire Department said in a statement on Facebook. “Lives have been lost, and many homes and businesses lost! ... We have alot of work in the days ahead to heal our community!”
Where are the storms headed next? Severe weather is expected to persist throughout the country on Friday, with a large marginal risk area spanning the country.
- The National Weather Service forecast a chance of “scattered to strong severe thunderstorms” over the central High Plains, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic, stating that strong winds and large hail could be the biggest threats.
- “Heavy to excessive” rain is possible in the High Plains and northeastern Gulf Coast, the NWS continued.
- BBC added that storms could hit parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi and Florida, with the potential to bring “large hail, damaging winds gusts, and a few tornadoes.”
- The storm will move over the southern plains on Saturday, per BBC, “lessening further into Sunday.”
- Major cities that could experience “large hail and damaging winds” on Friday, per CNN, include Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Denver and Jacksonville, Florida.