HOUSTON — A strong storm system threatened to whip up tornadoes in parts of the U.S. Southeast early today, a day after severe weather claimed at least two lives as twisters touched down in Texas and Mississippi.
Storm damage was reported in the northern Alabama town of Athens, just northwest of Huntsville. A National Weather Service survey team was expected to begin assessing damage Sunday morning, said meteorologist Chelly Amin.
The courthouse square in downtown Athens (AL) this morning… photo from the City of Athens
NWS survey teams will look at the damage later this morning; most likely it was caused by a brief tornado. pic.twitter.com/PKqVyAYHNN
— James Spann (@spann) December 29, 2024
No one was hurt in the Athens storm, U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Huntsville, said on Twitter this morning.
“I’m saddened to see the damage in downtown Athens, but thankful there were no injuries,” Strong said. “As a federal partner, I stand ready to assist local leaders and small business owners with any resources for recovery they might need.”
The National Weather Service’s severe storm tracker indicated the system was moving east through Alabama into Georgia shortly before 4 a.m. The agency issued severe thunder storm warnings with the possibility of tornadoes in western Georgia, the northwestern tip of Florida and elsewhere.
From Limestone County EMA, damage on Athens Square pic.twitter.com/acNrG0L8eQ
— Grace Anello (@AnelloWx) December 29, 2024
On Saturday, one person died in the Liverpool area, located south of Houston, Texas. Four people suffered injuries that were not considered critical, according to Madison Polston of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office.
There were “multiple touchdown points” in the county between Liverpool, Hillcrest Village and Alvin. Officials knew of around 10 damaged homes but were working to determine the extent of the damage, Polston said.
In Mississippi, one person died in Adams County and two people were injured in Franklin County, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
The National Weather Service said two tornadoes hit around Bude and the city of Brandon, ripping roofs from several buildings.
It appeared at least six tornadoes touched down in the Houston area, though more may be discovered when crews go out to survey the damage. There was damage in the area from both tornadoes and straight-line winds, according to Josh Lichter, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
North of Houston, mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in Katy and Porter Heights, where the doors of a fire station were blown in, the weather service said.
Also Sunday, the National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings across portions of the Deep South as the line of storms barreled east through Alabama, Georgia and into South Carolina. Wind gusts of 60 mph (97 kph) were expected in the Spartanburg, South Carolina, area. Damage to trees and powerlines was expected in a number of counties, while a tornada watch was in effect for some parts of the state.
At 9 a.m. Sunday ET, nearly 65,000 customers were without power in Mississippi, down from 93,000 around 1 a.m., according to electric utility tracking website PowerOutage.us. Some 54,000 customers were without power in Georgia; 36,000, Alabama; 20,000, Louisiana; and 13,000, Texas.
Alabama Daily News’ Mary Sell contributed to this report.