2 dead, more injured as storms move through south

Millions of people across the South face damaging winds, strong tornadoes and hail on Saturday as the region braces for more potentially destructive storms.

Several tornadoes have been reported in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi in recent days, including an EF1 tornado (86 to 110 mph wind speed) near Fullerton, Louisiana, on Friday.

The National Weather Service confirmed five tornadoes in Texas on Thursday, including an EF1 in the Houston area that caused structural damage to some homes.

The storm threat renewed on Saturday, with the threat of tornadoes, damaging winds and hail into the overnight hours as the line of storms pushes east. Local flash flooding was also possible.

A tornado in Brazoria County left one person dead and four others suffering non-critical injuries, the sheriff’s office said Saturday. The authorities did not provide any further information about the death or the identity of the victim.

In Mississippi, one person died in the city of Natchez, Malary White of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said Saturday. The circumstances of the death are unclear, but it was related to storms in the area.

The Chambers County Sheriff’s Office in Texas said Highway 124 will be closed for a day or two due to downed power lines and other damage from tornadoes.

Another tornado in eastern Montgomery County caused “significant damage,” including to a fire station, but no fatalities and only minor injuries were reported, said Jason Smith, deputy chief of staff in District Judge Mark J. Keough’s office.

The East Montgomery County Fire Department confirmed their station was damaged by the twister.

“Despite the challenges, we remain fully operational and committed to serving our community,” the fire department said in a statement Saturday. The statement added that the fire station is powered by a generator.

By Sunday, this line of storms will move eastward, with a low risk of severe weather affecting an additional 24 million people from eastern Alabama to Virginia. Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh are included in this risk for additional tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and large hail.

According to FlightAware.com, despite the persistent weather, as of 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, there were more than 9,500 flight delays and 452 cancellations within, to or from the United States.

Most delays occur in and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where there were more than 1,110 delays, according to FlightAware. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston recorded the most flight cancellations to and from the airport – a total of 151 on Saturday evening.