Strong storms again roared across the South on Thursday, killing two Mississippi drivers and a woman in Alabama while leaving more than 100,000 people without power across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. National Weather Service forecasters said they believe multiple tornadoes hit southwest and central Mississippi, although they won't be sure until damage is surveyed, the AP reports. Heavy winds also were reported in Louisiana earlier in the day and in central Alabama as the system quickly pushed eastward. Forecasters predicted the system would push into Georgia before sunrise. On the back side of the system, there were also reports late Thursday of high winds in southern Oklahoma.
Schools and colleges sent students home early across much of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The same storm system produced tornadoes and hail earlier in North Texas, the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, and southeastern Kansas. Seven tornadoes were reported across the Plains from the northeastern Texas Panhandle to southeastern Kansas. Strong winds hit elsewhere Wednesday evening, toppling utility poles and trees and downing power lines in parts of North Texas. The storms came days after more than 40 tornadoes from East Texas to Georgia left at least nine dead. That outbreak damaged more than 250 homes, businesses, and public buildings across Mississippi. (More severe weather stories.)