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Extreme weatherTwenty tornadoes hit the southern United States in just one night
Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama were wiped out Tuesday through Wednesday. A lot of property damage was reported, but no casualties.
The images shared on social media give an idea of the strong winds that swept the southern United States last night, as here in Steens, Mississippi.
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About 20 tornadoes struck the southern United States overnight Tuesday through Wednesday, causing property damage and forcing some residents to flee to shelters as a precaution, the weather services said. No victims have been identified, according to initial information.
At least 20 tornadoes have struck parts of the states of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, inflicting damage to some homes and streets and causing downed trees and power outages, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) reported yesterday. ).
Uprooted trees
“We are receiving reports of damage in the Eutaw area (Greene County, Alabama), including damage to structures. We have no details of this damage at this time. They are connected to a storm that caused a tornado,” the SPC Birmingham, Alabama office said on social media. There are “reports of additional damage including numerous fallen trees and some residences north of Akron in Hale County, Alabama. It is the same storm that hit Eutaw,” adds the SPC.
40 million inhabitants on alert
Alarms were issued on Tuesday, which allowed the population to be ready. As of Tuesday evening, about 40 million people were on tornado alert across the southern and central United States, according to the Weather Services. Local media reported that dozens of residents in some towns in the south of the country had taken refuge as a precaution. There were no reports of evacuations.
The situation, initially described as “particularly dangerous” by the PSC, is expected to normalize on Wednesday according to the weather services, although supercells capable of causing massive damage remain possible, including flash flooding and hailstorms with large hail, the PSC warned on Wednesday. morning on Twitter.
A series of tornadoes had previously struck the southern part of the country in early November, mainly Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas, killing one person. This meteorological phenomenon, as impressive as it is difficult to predict, is relatively common in the United States, especially in the center and south of the country. Sometimes it is still devastating. Nearly a year ago, in December 2021, approximately 80 people lost their lives after multiple tornadoes hit Kentucky.
(AFP extension)
