Tornadoes topple trees onto homes, parked vehicles amid severe weather outbreak in southern US
On Wednesday, Oct. 31, severe thunderstorms moved across the southern Plains and into the Southeast, producing heavy rain, damaging winds and even a few tornadoes.
Over one dozen tornadoes were reported from Texas to Mississippi from Wednesday to early Thursday.
At least two fatalities have been attributed to the storms, with one death reported in Texas and another in Mississippi.
An emergency was declared in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday when the Prestonwood Lake Dam appeared close to failing.
"City of Arlington staff were notified of erosion around the dam and visited the site to assess the dam’s condition. It appears failure of the spillway may be imminent," the City said in a statement. "While no flooding of residential structures is anticipated, Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams has declared an emergency and issued a proclamation Wednesday so that city staff may act to protect the safety of citizens and reduce damage to property and public infrastructure."
Warm and humid air from the Gulf of Mexico moved in over east Texas and Louisiana ahead of a cold front, providing ample moisture and energy for thunderstorm development, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Derek Witt.
“During the late morning hours on Wednesday, the first thunderstorms began to form in north-central Texas, west of Dallas, as well as along the coast near Houston,” Witt said.
Updraft base of formerly tornado warned supercell that was currently on the east side of Houston on Wednesday, Oct. 31. More storms were developing south of it. This screenshot of a video is take on I10 around 5:00 p.m. EDT. (AccuWeather/Reed Timmer)
These storms began to increase in coverage during the early afternoon, stretching from southwest of Dallas and to the northeast through extreme southeastern Oklahoma and northern Arkansas.
A couple of tornadoes were reported to the west of Houston just after 3:00 p.m. CDT Wednesday. The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed one tornado, and the confirmation is still pending for other reports.
By 5:00 p.m. CDT, a well-defined line of thunderstorms was setting up in east Texas, and it would move across the border to Louisiana between 9:00 p.m. CDT and midnight, spawning several nighttime tornadoes.
“The damage reports for the tornadoes mentioned numerous trees and power lines down, with several fallen trees landing on homes and parked vehicles,” Witt said.
Multiple single engine aircraft were damaged by the winds at Baton Rouge Airport, including one that was reportedly thrown 1,000 feet, WAFB Baton Rouge Meteorologist Steve Caparotta tweeted.
Over a dozen tornado warnings were issued by the NWS to account for rotation in thunderstorms that was assisted by a twisting motion of winds with altitude.
In addition to the tornadoes, 89 reports of wind damage have been received so far from Texas to Alabama, with most of these being trees or power lines down.
Much cooler and drier air has filtered in behind the storms.
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