Severe storms heavily damaged mobile homes and downed power lines and trees in Mississippi, and tornado watches and warnings were issued in other parts of the South as a line of fierce storms swept through Saturday.
There were no injuries reported in Mississippi but four mobile homes were battered in Rose Hill, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said. Seven counties reported homes damaged by storms, flooding and power lines knocked down as the storms moved through. In Jefferson Davis County northwest of Hattiesburg, two house fires were blamed on lightning, the agency said.
Two tornadoes were confirmed to have struck in Mississippi, the National Weather Service said, including one on Rose Hill where homes were damaged, and another in Lauderdale County on the eastern edge of the state. Tornado watches were put in place in parts of Louisiana, and officials were investigating whether damage reported in Eastern Monroe County, Alabama, was caused by a tornado.
Far to the north, New England was bracing for up to a foot of snow in parts, and freezing rain was expected to coat large swathes of the Northeast and create icy conditions Sunday morning, according to forecasts from meteorologists at The Weather Channel. A blast of freezing, artic air is expected to hit large parts of the country next week.
IN-DEPTH
- Snow and Freezing Rain Could Hamper Travel in Midwest and Northeast
- 'Blanket of Snow': Winter Blast ices Over Southwest, Heads North