More than 50 million Americans are threatened by a severe storm
More than 50 million Americans were placed under a serious weather threat Friday after a deadly twister killed three in Texas and one in Florida.
With a marginal risk of large hail and damaging winds are Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Denver, and Jacksonville, Florida.
In addition, large parts of the South, Mid-Atlantic and Southern Plains can see storms with a severity of level 2 out of 5.
There is also a level 1 of 5 risk for parts of the Mid-Atlantic and from South Dakota to Florida, including affected Perryton, Texas.
Footage revealed the devastation as parts of the city were left in ruins by the tornado – as rescue crews searched for survivors
Parts of the country including Montgomery and Mobile in Alabama, Little Rock, Arkansas; Jackson, Mississippi; and Tallahassee, Florida remain at low tornado risk
Three were killed and more than 100 injured in Perryton when a tornado hit the town at 5:10 p.m. Thursday.
Fire Chief Paul Dutcher of Perryton said one person died at a mobile home park that took a “direct hit” from a tornado.
He added that at least 30 trailers were damaged or destroyed.
Ochiltree General Hospital treated the injured and some with life-threatening injuries were transferred to larger medical centers in Amarillo, Debbie Beck, the hospital’s chief financial officer, said Thursday night.
First responders from surrounding towns and cities and from neighboring Oklahoma descended on the town, which is home to more than 8,000 people and about 115 miles northeast of Amarillo, just south of the Oklahoma line.
Houses were torn apart and left in ruins, while vehicles were overturned and trees were broken in half.
Downtown Perryton was also affected by the tornado.
About two city blocks were severely damaged, including an office supplies store, flower shop and hair salon along the city’s main street.
A view of a damaged site in Perryton after the town was hit by a tornado, in Texas
Buildings sustained heavy damage from a tornado in Perryton, Texas, on Thursday
Escambia County, Florida was also hit by flash floods overnight
About 150 residents of a West Pensacola apartment building had to be moved as water levels continued to rise Friday morning
A minivan was pushed against the outside wall of a theater.
“A tornado formed and it just came crashing down on us. It came out of nowhere. There were no sirens, no time to go to shelter,” Perryton resident Jamie James told CNN.
“There was a time when I thought I was going to die,” she said.
Add: “Everything was going crazy. Garbage containers flew around, hailstones hit the car.’
Another person was killed in Escambia County, Florida after being crushed by a tree that fell on their home. local news reported.
The area was also hit by flash flooding overnight, with some areas receiving more than a foot of rain in just three hours.
About 150 residents of a West Pensacola apartment building had to be moved as water continued to rise Friday morning, district officials said.
More than 220,000 homes and businesses across Texas were without power as of 3 a.m. CT Friday, according to tracking website Poweroutage.us.
More than 130,000 people were without power in neighboring Louisiana, and outages were also reported in Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama.