Three dead as severe storms, tornadoes lash South

Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
·2 min read

Severe weather hit Florida on Monday after storms and tornadoes lashed a wide area of the South on Sunday into the overnight hours.

A suspected tornado overturned a mobile home in south Alabama late Sunday, killing one person. Jerry Oliver Williams, 61, of Henry County died when the storm struck a rural area around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Coroner Derek Wright said.

A suspected twister resulted in one death in Marion County, Mississippi, Coroner Jessie Graham said. Jerry Johnson, 70, died when his home took a “direct hit” from the storm in the Sandy Hook community, Graham said.

In south Georgia, the Wilcox County Sheriff’s Office said lightning struck a rural home during a storm early Monday, causing a fire that killed one person. News outlets identified the victim as an elderly woman.

Monday, four tornadoes were reported in north-central Florida, along with several reports of wind damage, the Storm Prediction Center said.

The prediction center received more than 250 reports of possible tornadoes, high winds, hail and storm damage from east Texas to south Georgia on Sunday afternoon and evening. Teams from the National Weather Service will assess tracks to determine where tornadoes struck.

As of Monday afternoon, tens of thousands of customers remained without power across the South, according to poweroutage.us.

Penny Temples, a teacher at Lumberton High School, assesses damage April 20, the morning after a tornado struck Baxterville, Miss.
Penny Temples, a teacher at Lumberton High School, assesses damage April 20, the morning after a tornado struck Baxterville, Miss.

After a mostly quiet day Tuesday, another round of severe weather is forecast to roll across the South on Wednesday and Thursday, AccuWeather said.

"Showers and thunderstorms are expected to form by early Wednesday morning across portions of northern Texas and Oklahoma, but the threat for severe weather will increase into the afternoon as the atmosphere destabilizes," AccuWeather said.

More severe weather: One week after deadly barrage, South braces for another wave of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes

By Thursday, much of the Southeast will be next in line for the threat of damaging wind gusts, flash flooding, hail and even a few tornadoes.

Last week during Easter Sunday, a series of tornadoes swept through the South. In last week’s barrage, more than 100 reported tornadoes left at least 36 dead across Mississippi, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee and North Carolina.

Contributing: Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tornadoes and storms: Severe weather lashes the South