40 million people in the southern US are at risk from storms

() — About 40 million people across the southern United States are in danger of severe weather this Sunday as storms move into the Lower Mississippi Valley and central Gulf Coast states, posing a risk of large hail and destructive winds.

There is an increased risk of severe weather, considered Level 3 of 5, for an area across the lower Mississippi River Valley that includes Arkansas, northern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and northwestern Florida.

The storms will be “fast-moving and include the possibility of both supercells and linear or arc structures,” which typically cause strong winds, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

A new round of storms is likely to develop across the region and into northwestern Florida this Sunday afternoon and into the evening, where a few isolated tornadoes are possible.

Overnight, there were 220 severe weather reports, including eight tornadoes, across parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and along the Gulf Coast.

As of noon (Miami time), more than 600,000 customers were without power in the South, including about 300,000 in Oklahoma and more than 100,000 in Texas and Louisiana, according to PowerOutage.us.

The Oklahoma Public Utility Company’s outage map indicated that there are about 200,000 customers without power in the region, especially in and around Tulsa.

“Due to the level of damage and hazards, this will be a multi-day recovery event,” the company said. in a Facebook post. “Estimated restoration times for customers who can accept power will be available Monday morning.”

The city of Tulsa said nearly 250 power poles/lines were down and said 911 received more than 4,500 calls over those lines between midnight and 5 a.m. City officials urged residents to stay off roads and stay home this Sunday if possible.

The Tulsa Police Department activated the Incident Management Team and officials prioritized storm-related emergency and injury calls, the department posted on Facebook.

“More than 35 City of Tulsa crews are clearing major city streets and others are working to assess storm conditions neighborhood by neighborhood. Work will take place during daylight hours over the next few days,” says the post.

Near record heat in the South

The risk of severe weather is just one of the weather problems facing the Southeast.

Showers and storms can also cause flooding from the southern half to the Gulf Coast, according to the National Metereological Service. Heavy rains could cause isolated flash flooding, especially in parts of northwestern Florida and north and central Florida.

Meanwhile, in the south there are hail and torrential rains, in some areas of the Gulf coast there are warnings of excessive heat. A total of 32 million people in central and south Texas, Louisiana and southern Mississippi are under heat watches today, likely to continue for several days.

Temperatures will reach triple digits, with heat index values ​​nearing 120 degrees (48° C) in some areas. The heat is 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit above normal for this time of year, and several records could be broken or equaled.

Cities across the South are bracing for the heat by opening cooling centers as some are still mopping up storms that left thousands without power.

Houston will open refrigeration centers from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. CT on Sunday and Monday as the city prepares for high temperatures. Caddo Parish in Louisiana has also opened additional cooling centers as the parish continues to deal with power outages and storm cleanup.

“Parish officials will continue to monitor power restoration with SWEPCO and Homeland Security to determine how long the centers will be open,” the parish said in a statement.

Fatalities in the south due to storms

The bad weather comes days after the storms made their way through Texas, Florida and Mississippi.

Three people, including a child, were killed in Perryton, Texas, when an EF-3 tornado ripped through the town Thursday, the fire marshal told . The storm sent more than 100 people to the hospital with head injuries and abrasions, the acting CEO of Ochiltree General Hospital told .

The tornado, with estimated maximum winds of 140 mph (225 km/h), damaged homes and businesses in the town of about 8,000 residents, including the local fire department and EMS, as well as multiple mobile homes, the New York fire chief said. Perryton, Paul Dutcher, noting that many of the department’s trucks were damaged.

In Mississippi, one person died after severe weather hit the state overnight, the Mississippi Department of Emergency Management said in a statement. According to preliminary reports, more than 70 homes were damaged.

A person died in Florida after being trapped when a tree fell on their home, according to Escambia County authorities. The county, which includes Pensacola, was affected by overnight flash flood emergencies, when water inundated roads and entered various structures.

Many of the areas affected on Thursday could experience another storm.

Large hail, destructive winds, and tornadoes are possible in Montgomery and Mobile in Alabama, Little Rock, Arkansas; Jackson, Mississippi; and Tallahassee, Fla.

There is a marginal risk, level 1 of 5, from South Dakota to Florida and for parts of the mid-Atlantic. Cities in the marginal risk zone, which could see large hail and damaging winds, include Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Denver, and Jacksonville, Florida.

‘s Jamiel Lynch, Matt Phillips, Aya Elamroussi, Dave Alsup, Melissa Alonso and Mallika Kallingal contributed to this report.