The emergency management spokesman said at least 40 people in Virginia had been injured. “We won’t stop searching until we’re satisfied we’ve searched every pile”.
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In Waverly, Larry D. Turner, 50, Devine J. Stringfield, 26, and 2-year-old Ivan T. Lewis died Wednesday afternoon when a twister hit Turner’s mobile home in a neighborhood sandwiched between railroad tracks and USA 460.
Jerome Picou, who lives near the park, said just before the tornado hit that it was raining and the skies grew dark. She was home with the flu, laying in her bed when she heard the sound of the tornado.
He stopped at The Moorings apartment complex, where winds ripped the roof off of at least two buildings.
“You’re sitting there one minute playing video games and the next thing you know, your house is gone. – within 10 minutes”, said Michael Nelson, who was home with family members.
Another man was killed in Lamar County, Mississippi, the National Weather Service said.
A few miles to the east, a small funnel cloud touched the FedEx facility on the grounds of Louis Armstrong International Airport in Kenner, though no damages or injuries were reported.
Debris from a damaged water tower is shown in this handout photo provided on Wednesday by Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office, west of New Orleans, La.
That eight tornadoes include four EF-2 tornadoes that were responsible for the major damage in Convent and LaPlace, along with an EF-2 in Livingston Parish and one in Paincourtville (PAN’-koor-vil).
The ratings are based on the worst damage found, but doesn’t mean the tornado was at that strength along the whole track.
The harsh weather even affected the National Weather Service, Graham said.
Forecasters said 1 to 2 inches of rainfall is expected to descend upon the already-saturated ground by Thursday morning, which they expect to lead to flooding.
“We felt the shockwave go through the building”, said Ken Graham of the National Weather Service.
Several people were injured and about 70 homes damaged when a tornado ripped through Pensacola, Florida, on Tuesday night, local media reported.
It was a different story in Lancaster County, he said, where more structures were damaged by winds that could be related to a tornado, though that was not verified Wednesday night.
“All residents in Appomattox County are accounted for and there have been no additional injuries”, the spokesperson said.
The National Weather Service said radar indicated a possible tornado at the scene, where a mobile home was destroyed.
NWS Storm Survey determined a long-track tornado of 28 miles traveled from the Middle Peninsula to Northern Neck affecting King and Queen, Essex, Richmond and Westmoreland counties.
Bill Bunting with Storm Prediction Center estimated 20 to 24 tornados hit from Louisiana to Florida on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s tornado activity is one for the history books with nine confirmed tornadoes in a single day in southeast Louisiana and one in southwest Louisiana claiming the lives of two people and destroying homes and businesses, all in a matter of hours. He recalled the sky darkening and high winds – he believes it was a tornado. They were apparently thrown out of the home by the gusts of wind.
Phoebus resident Barbra Mingee said she was driving home on Armistead Avenue in the afternoon after getting the alert to find shelter. He said he struggled to keep his footing in the wind, and it almost knocked his wife down.
A state of emergency was declared in Santa Rosa, Florida.
Becherer reported from Convent, Louisiana. “As soon as we got to the door, I could see the top of the tornado going down, crossing the road there”.
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Storms brought heavy rains and strong winds through Maryland and Washington, leaving thousands without power and motorists stranded by flooded roads.
