SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Severe storms killed at least two people in the United States Tuesday, one in Georgia and one in Texas. Hail, windstorms and tornadoes hit the south of the country, where authorities warned that there might be a second day of dangerous weather.
A woman died overnight in Pembroke, Georgia, where a possible tornado tore off part of the roof of the Bryan County courthouse, destroyed the driveway of a local government building across the street and damaged homes in nearby neighborhoods, Matthew said. Kent, county government spokesman.
Multiple people were injured in the county, 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Savannah, Kent said. The death occurred in one of the affected neighborhoods, he said, although the spokesman had no further details.
In East Texas, WM Soloman, 71, was killed when the wind toppled a tree on his home in Whitehouse, regarding 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Dallas, according to the town’s mayor, James Wansley. Trees fell on at least four homes in the municipality, according to authorities.
More than 50,000 homes and businesses were without power from East Texas to South Carolina. The National Weather Service issued a long series of tornado watches for hours as the storm system battered Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.
In southeast Georgia, 23-year-old Gage Moore was driving home from work late at night on Interstate 16 in Pembroke County when his fiancée called to say she had heard tornado sirens. About two minutes later, Moore said, he looked to see a large whirlwind to the left of the freeway.
Moore said he had stopped his car under a bridge, then made a cellphone video of the funnel-shaped cloud crossing the road.
“I felt the truck shaking and heard the noise as it went by,” Moore said. “Luckily, we all stopped and left a huge hole in the interstate where it crossed.”
In South Carolina, Allendale County Manager William Goodson said a tornado, recorded on videos circulating on social media, had caused damage in the rural region, but the exact extent and whether there were any injuries was not yet known.
The threat of storms will move north on Wednesday, forecasters say, with several possible in an area from western Alabama to the far western Carolinas. More than 10 million people in metropolitan areas including Atlanta, Birmingham and Chattanooga, Tennessee, will be at risk, the Prediction Center said.
Spring often brings storms to the southeastern United States. The region has seen a succession of bad weather lately, including a tornado last month in New Orleans that killed one person and storms that killed at least two across Florida’s northwestern fringe.
