Tornadoes hit Texas, Oklahoma as thunderstorms rattle South and leave 3 dead
At least three people have died as severe thunderstorms and tornadoes trudged across the southern United States with damaging winds and multiple tornadoes.
Powerful winds associated with thunderstorms sweeping across the U.S. led to widespread wildfires and dust storms on March 4.
March came in like a lion across the southern United States as severe thunderstorms roared from Texas and Oklahoma across the Gulf Coast states late Monday through Tuesday.
At least 22 tornadoes have been confirmed amid the storms, including seven in Oklahoma, six in Louisiana and five in Texas. One of the tornadoes in Irving, Texas, barreled into an apartment complex, leading to a partial building collapse. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. All of the tornadoes have been given preliminary ratings of EF0 or EF1.
Three fatalities have been reported in Mississippi in connection with the storms, according to WAPT, based out of Jackson, Mississippi.
Strong winds were the primary danger with the storms, which contributed to nearly 500,000 power outages across the region by Tuesday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us; however, some of the outages were related to strong winds in the wake of the storms.
The number of outages had fallen below 30,000 by Thursday morning in the wake of the stormy and windy weather, and were reported from Texas and Oklahoma to East Coast states.
Revelers partaking in Mardi Gras festivities changed their plans at the last minute, with the two biggest parades in New Orleans starting earlier than normal due to the risk of dangerous weather in the afternoon and evening, according to The Associated Press. Two other parades were postponed to Sunday due to the weather.
On the afternoon of March 4, there was little evidence that the people swarming Bourbon Street and surrounding areas were aware of severe storms approaching the area.
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The same storm responsible for the severe weather also generated powerful winds across Texas, resulting in a massive dust storm that swept through Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.
Air quality reached unhealthy levels, winds howled up to 60 mph and visibility dropped to just 2 miles during the worst of the dust storm.
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