(Trends Wide) — As Mississippi recovers after deadly storms that spawned tornadoes, more than 20 million people are at risk from severe storms across much of the South and parts of the Midwest this Sunday.
Multiple rounds of thunderstorms are possible throughout the day, with parts of Alabama and Georgia expecting morning storms threatening large hail. Parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana also face increased risk of severe storms.
Residents across the Southeast are already reeling from powerful storms and tornadoes that ripped through the region Friday night, killing at least 26 people and injuring dozens of others. The storms nearly leveled some neighborhoods and knocked out power for thousands, officials said.
At least 10 tornadoes are confirmed to have struck Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, according to multiple department offices. National Weather Service (NWS).
US President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Mississippi counties early Sunday morning and ordered federal aid to assist recovery efforts in areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes that hit the state.
“Assistance may include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster,” said a statement from the White House.
KeUntey Ousley tries to salvage what she can from her mother’s boyfriend’s vehicle as her mother LaShata Ousley and girlfriend Mikita Davis look on after a tornado hit their town the night before in Rolling Fork, Mississippi on March 25, 2023. (Credit: Barbara Gauntt/The Clarion-Ledger/USA Today/Reuters)
Meanwhile, additional storms – capable of producing very large hail, tornadoes and destructive winds – are expected to form in parts of East Texas this Sunday afternoon and then likely move into Louisiana, Mississippi and eventually Alabama during the afternoon and night.
The Storm Prediction Center issued a Level 3 of 5 risk for severe storms over parts of eastern Louisiana, south-central Mississippi and south-central Alabama. The threatened area includes Jackson, Hattiesburg, and Meridian in Mississippi, as well as Montgomery and Prattville in Alabama.
“Large to very large hail should be the primary threat with any supercell,” the Storm Prediction Center said. “Destructive winds and some tornadoes also seem possible.”
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The storms will then move east into the Carolinas on Sunday afternoon, posing a threat of destructive winds. A marginal risk of severe storms also includes parts of central Illinois and Indiana.
Tornado ripped through a small Mississippi town
An aerial view of the city of Rolling Fork this Saturday. (Credit: Cheney Orr/Reuters)
“Lord, I don’t want to die,” Shanta Howard, a resident of Rolling Folk, Mississippi, thought as a tornado ripped through her town, she recalled to Trends Wide affiliate WAPT.
He EF-4 tornado night It swept through much of the Rolling Fork community, which experienced maximum estimated winds of 170 mph (274 km/h), NWS Meteorologist Bill Parker told Trends Wide’s Jim Acosta.
EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes are considered “violent” and extremely rare, accounting for only about 1% of all tornadoes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The last EF-4 tornado to hit Mississippi was on April 19, 2020.
As the sun came up on Saturday, drone footage showed homes completely leveled and reduced to piles of wood, tossed vehicles and splintered trees.
Mayor Eldridge Walker of Rolling Fork – a city of fewer than 2,000 people – says his “city disappeared.”
“The police department is destroyed. The town hall is destroyed. The county courthouse is damaged. The fire department is devastated. There is not a functioning grocery store in the community,” US Representative Bennie Thompson told Trends Wide.
Resident Noel Crook walks through his home Saturday, March 25, 2023, as he surveys the damage in Silver City, Mississippi, following Friday’s deadly tornado. (Credit: Hannah Mattix/The Clarion-Ledger/AP)
As search and rescue efforts continued, the community’s only hospital was out of service on Saturday and the injured were transported to the nearest hospital more than 50 miles (80 km) away, Thompson said.
“We have found multiple victims,” Sharkey County Supervisor Jessie Mason said. “It’s just an ongoing process and it’s going to be a long way to go.”
Rolling Fork Deputy Mayor LaDonna Sias described the terrifying moments when residents of the small town hid from the destructive tornado, taking cover in closets, bathtubs and under pillows as the storm raged outside.
“It seemed like forever until the noise stopped,” recalled Sias, who watched destroyed houses and heard people screaming. Sias’s own home was destroyed by the tornado.
“It was totally devastating,” he said. “Even though we lost everything, these things can be replaced. Material things can be replaced, but losing a loved one is heartbreaking,” Sias said.
The storms continued to the east
A tornado hit central Mississippi on Friday night. (Credit: Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Another report of a tornado – which tore through Blackhawk in Carroll County and Winona in Montgomery County, Mississippi, overnight into Saturday – received a preliminary qualification of EF-3according to the National Weather Service in Jackson.
In Carroll County, three people were killed at a home, coroner Mark Stiles told Trends Wide, adding that they were apparently killed by a tornado.
Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told Trends Wide the agency sent a team to the state to help with immediate needs and long-term recovery planning.
“We want to make sure the state has everything they need as we work to make sure no additional lives are lost,” Criswell said.
Following Biden’s approval, federal funds will now be available to those affected in Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties, according to a White House statement.
The storm system also affected northern Alabama and south central Tennessee as Friday night transitioned into Saturday.
A Morgan County, Alabama man died after becoming trapped inside his mobile home, according to Brandy Davis, Morgan County Director of Emergency Management.
At least three tornadoes occurred in northern Alabama, according to the Huntsville office of the National Weather Service. An EF-2 tornado also touched down near Fayetteville, Tennessee, just north of the Tennessee-Alabama border. Additional storm surveys will be conducted in the coming days.
Trends Wide’s Isabel Rosales, Jaide Timm-Garcia, Rebekah Riess, Andy Rose, Chloe Liu, Melissa Alonso and Keith Allen contributed to this report.
