Tornado watches issued in South as severe weather outbreak continues: Latest
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Tornado outbreak hits South amid severe weather threat
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A destructive tornado ripped through Perryton, Texas, Thursday evening, leaving at least one person dead and the town without power.
The north and east sides of the small town saw significant damage, with trailer houses destroyed and communication towers downed, Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher told ABC News. One fatality has been confirmed and more than 75 people were being treated at the local hospital, he said.
Dutcher said that the confirmed death is from a trailer home and multiple agencies are on scene responding to the tornado.
The Texas Division of Emergency Management organized a team to come from Amarillo, Texas, and are sending an AmBus capable of transporting 10-12 patients, Dutcher said.
“We have a lot of patients in hospital who will need to be transported,” Dutcher said.
There is currently no power to Perryton, Xcel Energy told ABC News.
“Our crews are arriving on site and are assisting in removing lines from cars and across the roads. We are patrolling the transmission feeds into the city and also assessing possible damage at the main substation in town. One of the three main transmission feeds into the city was apparently undamaged, but we deenergized it for safety reasons,” Xcel Energy said in a statement.
Ochiltree General Hospital, the area hospital, is operating on generators amid widespread power outages, hospital spokesperson Amie Marrufo told ABC News.
A tornado watch was also in effect Thursday afternoon from Mobile, Alabama, to Albany, Georgia, to Tallahassee, Florida.
Severe thunderstorm watches have been issued in Brunswick, Georgia; Jacksonville, Florida; eastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi.
Georgia and Alabama are also getting slammed with heavy rain and flooding. More than 7 inches of rain hit Albany, Georgia, over the last 24 hours.
This comes after Wednesday storms brought massive hail and powerful winds to Mississippi and at least 10 reported tornadoes to Texas, Alabama and Georgia.
The Plains are also bracing for rough weather, with a severe thunderstorm watch issued in parts of southeastern Colorado and southwestern Kansas. Residents in the region should expect dangerous winds up to 80 mph, hail up to 4 inches in diameter and possible tornadoes.
More storms are expected Friday from Colorado to the Gulf Coast, with damaging winds and hail the main threat. Severe storms are also possible Friday afternoon and evening from Virginia to New Jersey.
Meanwhile, dangerous, triple-digit heat is baking the South. Record-high temperatures are possible over the next few days in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and New Orleans.
