Tornadoes inflicted damage across parts of the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, leaving at least three people dead on a day when severe weather swept through much of the United States.
“It was really just tremendous devastation,” said Bay County spokeswoman Valerie Sale, likening the damage in a few spots to 2018’s highly destructive Hurricane Michael.
Fifteen tornadoes had been reported along the Gulf Coast as of 6 p.m., according to the National Weather Service, which must verify the preliminary reports. Tornado watches stretched from Florida to Virginia.
Across the country, severe wind, rain and snow from various storm systems closed schools, delayed flights and caused power outages. On Tuesday morning, nearly all 50 states saw National Weather Service alerts. The number of power outages grew throughout the day, with more than 670,000 customers without power at 4 p.m. Eastern time, according to PowerOutage.us. That number fell to about 525,000 late Tuesday.
Snow blanketed the Plains and Midwest, closing schools and disrupting travel. The Appalachians, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast faced heavy rain and were poised against the threat of flash flooding. Nearly 50 million people were under coastal flood warnings Tuesday afternoon.
Western Washington was under a blizzard warning for the first time since 2012, bracing with Oregon for snow in the Cascades. Even Hawaii was under threat of snow and wind gusts on Big Island summits.
An 81-year-old woman was killed in Cottonwood, Ala., after a tornado lifted her mobile home off its foundation. The home rolled two or three times, landing on its side and killing the woman, Charlotte Paschal, who authorities believed was sheltering in her bathroom, said Houston County Coroner Robert Byrd. In Birmingham, a person died when a tree fell on their car, police spokesman Truman Fitzgerald said.
In the eastern United States, the storm system was driven by an atmospheric river, which brings thunderstorms and downpours. Powerful rotating thunderstorms called supercells spawned the tornadoes. And because the rain came after an unusually wet December, flooding became more probable.
Atmospheric rivers associated with East Coast winter storms typically move out to sea and miss communities on the coast, but in recent weeks, a pattern has pulled moisture inland. The storm system was dragging a large stream of water vapor from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean north and up the East Coast, satellite data showed.
“The house was upside down,” Byrd said. “There were several downed trees, other houses damaged, clothing and furniture and those kind of things scattered around the yard.”
A person was killed in Claremont, N.C., after a severe storm hit a mobile home park. Two others were in critical condition, said Catawba County spokeswoman Amy McCauley. The National Weather Service was working to determine whether there had been a tornado, McCauley said.
Another death was under investigation in Jonesboro, Ga., where authorities said a driver was found dead with a fallen tree on their car. Clayton County police noted the storm probably felled the tree but said the cause was being investigated.
While some areas of the country were still waiting for Tuesday’s worst impacts, more severe weather was forecast for Friday and Saturday. A storm could bring thunderstorms to the South, flooding and high winds to the East Coast, and a blizzard to parts of the Midwest and the Great Lakes, models predict.
In Panama City Beach, the first tornado warnings woke people around 5:30 a.m. Multiple tornadoes caused “numerous reports of damage” and prompted some rescues, Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said in a live Facebook video.
About three hours later, a squall line came through, prompting Ford to warn residents again to shelter in place.
The roof was flipped off an apartment complex, a boat storage facility at the marina was destroyed, power lines and traffic lights were damaged, and some homes were destroyed, officials said. Up to 100 people were displaced, Sale said. No fatalities had been reported, though five people had gone to the hospital with injuries.
The damage was worst in a couple of areas on Panama City Beach and a few inland pockets, along with inland Marianna, where similar damage was reported.
In Panama City, a handful of residents lost roofs and downed trees closed roadways, city spokeswoman Caitlin Lawrence said.
In the aftermath, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) declared a state of emergency for 49 counties. He had earlier activated the State Guard to help with the emergency response.
For Alex La Pera, a general contractor, the winter storm was the worst he had experienced during the six years he has lived in Panama City, he said. He had already received a handful of calls from people needing repairs.
“This is a pretty, pretty tough storm that went through,” said La Pera, who was on his way Tuesday afternoon to put tarps on some damaged roofs in Bayou George, about 20 miles northeast of Panama City Beach. “I was really surprised.”
Ian Livingston, Dan Stillman, Daniel Wu, Matthew Cappucci and Laris Karklis contributed to this report.