Several tornadoes tear through U.S. states, leave 3 dead

PanARMENIAN.Net - Several tornadoes tore through southern Louisiana and Mississippi on Tuesday, Feb 23, killing at least three people and injuring more than 30 others as the storms destroyed homes and businesses and toppled a water tower, forecasters and emergency officials said, according to Reuters.

More severe weather was expected Tuesday evening as the storm system moved eastward, forecasters said.

Weather officials were tracking more than a dozen reports of tornadoes in the region on Tuesday afternoon, said Mike Efferson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in New Orleans.

About 31,000 customers were without power in Louisiana, according to Entergy Louisiana, the main electricity supplier in the area.

In Assumption Parish, a tornado knocked down a water tower and damaged homes, said Deputy Robert Martin of the Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office.

Up to 20 homes were reported destroyed, and firefighters rescued residents with minor injuries from four homes, said John Boudreaux, director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in Assumption Parish.

Residents reported damage to homes from tornadoes and golf ball-sized hail on the Mississippi Gulf Coast as the system barreled across the U.S. South, Efferson said.

"It's still going, and this system is going to continue to have a threat for tornadoes as it moves east through the night into Mississippi and Alabama," he said.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryan declared a state of emergency for areas expected to be affected by the storm.

Schools and government offices canceled classes or closed early in Louisiana and Mississippi as severe weather warnings lined up from Louisiana to Florida and Georgia.

The Weather Service said Alabama could see tornadoes and hail early Wednesday.

Storms were expected to hit southwestern Georgia by midnight and could reach Atlanta and central Georgia before the morning rush hour on Wednesday, meteorologist Adam Baker said.