Massive storms kill 2, bring wildfires and blizzard conditions across the US: Updates
Editor's note: This story reflects news of the winter storm and dangerous weather across the country for Tuesday, March 4. For the latest news on the winter storm, read Paste BN's story for Wednesday, March 5.
A massive winter storm marched across the central U.S. on Tuesday, unloading heavy winds, rain, and snow across much of the country, killing two people in Mississippi, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of customers, and forcing officials to reschedule Mardi Gras events in New Orleans.
Two people in Mississippi died due to the severe weather, Gov. Tate Reeves confirmed on the social media platform X. WAPT-TV reported that one person was killed when a power line fell in Madison County and that another person in the same county died after a tree fell on his car.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch Tuesday extended until 9 p.m. CT for parts of Mississippi and Louisiana, including New Orleans, where tens of thousands gathered outdoors for the yearly Mardi Gras celebration. Police had already announced shortened parade routes ahead of the harsh weather.
The weather service reported a possible tornado moving northeastward at 45 mph toward Pointe à la Hache, a community about 50 miles southeast of New Orleans. By 8 p.m. CT, the service said severe weather in the region was "almost done" as the line of storms steadily moved east off the Louisiana coast.
The service also confirmed a brief tornado in Irving, Texas, about 10 miles northwest of Dallas, and said the twister had peak wind speeds of 110 mph. No injuries or deaths were reported.
Tens of millions of people were under severe weather advisories because of the storm, from tornado, thunderstorm and fire-related warnings in the South to blizzard warnings across the northern Plains region.
Hurricane-force winds were reported in northeastern Texas and southeastern Oklahoma through the morning, prompting red flag warnings across the drought-stricken region. The winds caused widespread power outages that affected over 360,000 homes and businesses in Texas alone.
Meanwhile, forecasters in Minnesota and Nebraska warned of heavy snowfall that could cause whiteout conditions and make travel "treacherous and potentially life-threatening."
Through the midweek, the low-pressure system is expected to spread as far south as Florida and as far north as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, coming up just short of New York City, which may still be in for some thunderstorms, AccuWeather said. In all, the storm could impact up to 170 million people across more than 20 states.
Uprooted trees, damaged buildings, tangled power lines
Damage was reported in multiple states as the expansive storm brought hurricane-force winds across the South.
In south-central Oklahoma, the city of Ada was ravaged by strong winds and a confirmed tornado. Images showed an uprooted tree smashed into a mobile home while mangled debris littered the streets. The city urged residents to stay home if possible, with "downed power lines, gas leaks, and trees everywhere," according to a Facebook post.
In Lewisville, Texas, multiple local media outlets reported that a warehouse collapsed overnight. The city said wreckage-covered roads and winds knocked out traffic lights, snarling traffic. In the nearby city of Irving, the police department said on X that there was "significant storm damage."
In Plano, just north of Dallas, winds ripped off a portion of a high school's roof while heavy rain flooded the school's sports facility, KHOU reported. The NWS office in Fort Worth, Texas, said dust storms the rest of Tuesday will reduce visibility to about 2 miles in some locations.
The El Paso, Texas, office of the NWS warned motorist against driving in such conditions Tuesday, when a "plume of dust'' from New Mexico was headed its way. The previous day, a large, fast-moving dust storm known as a "haboob'' drastically reduced visibility in parts of New Mexico and Texas.
In Ascension Parish, Louisiana, the local sheriff's office said about five houses received weather-related damage on Tuesday. No injuries were immediately reported.
The parish is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan area and about 60 miles northwest of New Orleans. Responders throughout the Baton Rouge area also reported fallen trees in several parishes.
In Rapides Parish, located in central Louisiana, residents and authorities reported damages to structures, homes. and roads. The Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office said it was aware of damages, but there were no reported injuries.
Strong winds, dry conditions cause fires in Texas
High winds and low humidity, as well as dry vegetation in Texas fueled wildfires across the state.
Earlier Tuesday, the Texas A&M Forest Service said extreme fire weather conditions were expected to be widespread in the western and southern parts of Texas near the cities of Abilene, Austin, Del Rio, Fort Worth, Killeen, Laredo, San Angelo, San Antonio, Stephenville, and Weatherford.
"Any wildfire that ignites in dry vegetation could have forward rates of spread up to six miles per hour," the Texas A&M Forest Service warned.
By late Tuesday, fire crews responded to 13 active wildfires, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service's incident viewer.
Storm blasts Plains, Midwest with whiteout conditions
While the storm unleashed damaging winds in the South, it is also set to bring heavy snow and blizzard conditions to portions of the north-central U.S. into Wednesday.
The two main trouble spots for heavy snow are parts of Colorado and the upper Midwest. On Tuesday, the swath of heaviest snow will expand and shift from northeastern Colorado to South Dakota, Iowa, and central and western Minnesota, AccuWeather said.
Blizzard warnings are in effect in six states, and some 6 million people could be impacted, the National Weather Service said.
"Travel should be restricted to emergencies only," the NWS office in Iowa warned. "If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle."
– Doyle Rice
Hurricane-force winds threaten 'extreme fire behavior'
The storm's damaging winds come as parts of the eastern U.S. are seeing a breakout of wildfires and the South's drought conditions have turned the region into a tinderbox.
In the Carolinas, firefighters continued battling blazes that have prompted evacuations and clouded communities in heavy smoke. Just outside Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, first responders were working to contain a 2,000-acre fire that erupted over the weekend.
In North Carolina, fires were engulfing swaths of the state's national forests while evacuation orders remained in parts of Polk County, where a 600-acre fire burned in the Blue Ridge Mountains. With powerful winds on the horizon, fire officials across the East warned residents to refrain from burning anything outdoors.
The National Weather Service on Tuesday issued red flag warnings throughout central and southern Texas as the storm pushed across the state. The area did not receive much rain, and hurricane-force winds threatened to fuel any fires that ignited in the dry lands.
Power outages abound amid cross-country storm
In Texas, the number of homes and businesses without power had dwindled from upward of 360,000 to about 210,000 as of 8 p.m. CT Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.us.
More than 31,000 outages were reported in Louisiana while over 24,000 utility customers had no power in Mississippi and 39,000 in Alabama as the storm moved east, the outage tracker said.
"While we may not yet have a specific time for customers’ power to return, resources are working as quickly and safely as possible around the clock," Texas' largest power provider, Oncor, said in a statement.
Wind advisories stretch across the US
Wind warnings and advisories were in place Tuesday from New Mexico to Florida and up to Virginia as the massive storm barreled east across the central U.S.
"As these thunderstorms roar eastward, the biggest threat will be damaging wind gusts, especially in Arkansas, Louisiana and western Mississippi," said Tyler Roys, a senior meteorologist for AccuWeather, adding that the area could see "widespread gusts of up to 80 mph" and some possibly as high as 100 mph.
A gust of 93 mph − just 3 mph below Category 2 hurricane strength − was registered near the small town of Hugoton in southwestern Kansas on Tuesday afternoon, KSN-TV reported.
The gusts are expected to continue grounding flights and knocking out power. Another main concern: the threat of wildfires in the South and spreading the blazes already burning in the Carolinas.
Tornado warnings and watches issued across Texas, Oklahoma
The National Weather Service issued tornado advisories for multiple southern Plains states Tuesday morning, including Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
The weather service offices in the Oklahoma cities of Tulsa and Norman warned residents of severe storms "capable of producing tornadoes" moving across the southeastern part of the state. Dallas was among the cities in northeastern Texas under tornado watches.
The service’s office in Forth Worth, Texas, urged residents to prepare an emergency kit with essentials. The office also alerted of the “critical fire weather’’ in the Dallas area because of the high winds and low humidity Tuesday.
Travel delays pile up at Texas airports
More than 280 flights at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport were canceled Tuesday and over 500 were delayed, according to FlightAware. The Federal Aviation Administration said flights at the airport were being delayed by an average of two hours "due to wind."
“Strong storms this morning are leading to hazardous road conditions around the metro area,” the airport said in a statement on X. “Please allow extra time and be safe as storms move quickly over the area. Check your flight status for any schedule impacts this morning.”
The smaller Dallas Love Field airport reported over 60 cancellations and dozens of delays, according to FlightAware. In Houston, George Bush Intercontinental Airport saw 45-minute delays because of the storm, the FAA said.
Mardi Gras forced to reschedule events because of severe weather
With the storm threatening to bring powerful wind gusts, hail and possible tornadoes to New Orleans on Fat Tuesday, officials have had to reschedule events and cut some short.
Two of the city's largest parades were set for Tuesday morning, and while they still occurred, the New Orleans Police Department set a deadline of 11:30 a.m. for the festivities to end before the worst of the storm moves over the area. The parades will also have shortened routes.
The National Weather Service in New Orleans said the city is at an enhanced risk of severe weather, issuing a tornado watch and warning of "damaging winds in excess of 60 mph."
The office reported damage from a possible tornado in Gramercy, about 45 miles west of New Orleans, and said around 5 p.m. local time, "the next 2-3 hours will be the busiest.''
Major storm threatens nocturnal tornadoes
Through March 2, the U.S. had totaled 61 confirmed tornadoes this year, less than half the yearly average of 138 for that period. That figure is about to change, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva, who said the number of twisters is less relevant than where and when they strike.
Nocturnal tornadoes are particularly concerning because they may hit homes when people are sleeping and not ready to seek cover.
“It really only takes one,’’ he said in an online forecast. “If you get one really powerful tornado to go through a very populated area, people are really going to remember that. We just want people to be vigilant.’’
Forecasters raise alarms about layoffs, budget cuts
Weather experts across the nation say they fear the Trump administration's government cuts that resulted in hundreds of employees leaving the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the weather service, may increase the threat during these severe weather events.
“Recent terminations within the government workforce for science are likely to cause irreparable harm and have far-reaching consequences for public safety, economic well-being, and the United States’ global leadership,” the American Meteorological Society said Monday.
President Donald Trump and his senior advisor Elon Musk have looked to the Department of Government Efficiency to enact Trump's signature campaign promise to reduce the size of the federal government.
Most weather service field offices already are understaffed, said James Spann, chief meteorologist for WBMA-TV in Birmingham, Alabama. “If NWS products and services are reduced, we all suffer … especially during times of life-threatening weather,” Spann wrote in a social media post.
NOAA has said it's committed to keeping Americans informed about dangerous weather. More than 1,000 protesters demonstrated against the layoffs Monday outside the agency's office in Boulder, Colorado.
In addition to the probationary employees who were dismissed, a wave of senior weather service meteorologists retired Friday, and others left as part of the agency’s “Fork in the Road” plan that will pay them administrative leave through September.
Contributing: Michael Tortorich, Gonzales Weekly Citizen; Melissa Gregory, Alexandria Town Talk