A storm system capable of producing floods, tornadoes and large hail was moving eastward across eastern Texas early Tuesday, hours after high winds from the system damaged homes, downed trees and ripped a roof off a high school.
Several tornadoes roared through Central Texas beginning in the late afternoon Monday. Tornadoes in and around Austin overturned an 18-wheeler, according to the National Weather Service. In Elgin, about 25 miles east of the city, a mobile home was tossed on top of a building.
The National Weather Service received at least 22 tornado reports and 50 damaging wind reports in the Plains on Monday, most of them in Texas.
As of early Tuesday, about 47,000 customers across Texas, mostly in the northeastern part of the state, had no electricity.
The severe weather threat Tuesday will move into the Deep South, with tornadoes, hail, damaging winds and flash flooding likely in places from Louisiana and southeastern Arkansas to Mississippi, western Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle.
Some tornadoes could be intense — EF2 or stronger — and could stay on the ground for extended periods of time, especially from southwestern Louisiana to far western Alabama.
Truckers should expect intermittent delays across the region due to areas of torrential rain, in addition to potential road closures due to debris.
Severe storms could hit the rest of the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday, along with many spots in Georgia and the Carolinas. Tornadoes will be possible, but are forecast to pop up in fewer locations than on Tuesday in the Deep South.
Major lanes of concern
• Interstate 10 from Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Jacksonville, Florida.
• Interstate 20 from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Florence, South Carolina.
• Interstate 55 from New Orleans to Memphis, Tennessee.
• Interstate 59 from New Orleans to Birmingham, Alabama.
• Interstate 65 in Alabama from Mobile to Montgomery.
• Interstate 75 from Atlanta to Gainesville, Florida.
• Interstate 85 from Atlanta to Raleigh, North Carolina.
Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.
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