Deadly Perryton tornado kills 3 in Texas; dozens injured amid power outages

A deadly tornado ripped through the town of Perryton in the northeast panhandle of Texas early Thursday evening, killing at least three people amid a siege of storms rolling through Southern states. By Friday morning, the storms had left over 600,000 customers without power from Texas to Florida, where one additional fatality was reported.

The Texas death toll was confirmed by Jessica Guzman, dispatch supervisor at the Ochiltree County Sheriff’s office. She also said between 70 and 100 people were injured, but that no one had been reported missing.

Storm aftermath: Photos show the destruction from a deadly Perryton, Tex. tornado

Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher reported that one of the victims was killed in a mobile home park that took a “direct hit” from a tornado, according to ABC’s Amarillo affiliate. He added that almost 30 trailers were destroyed.

As many as 100 people were sent to the Ochiltree General Hospital, according to Debbie Beck, the hospital’s chief financial officer. Some of them have been transferred out, but no fatalities have been sent to the hospital, she said. Beck said she could not say how many of the patients were in serious condition.

Our thoughts are with those in Perryton, TX tonight. A devastating tornado changed many lives there this evening and many homes and businesses destroyed. We are thinking about you all and praying for you.

Footage from social media appeared to show flattened mobile homes and trees stripped of their foliage, as rescue teams continued to search for survivors.

“It’s bad. It’s very bad. It’s nonstop crazy. It couldn’t have hit in a more vulnerable place,” Mayor Kerry Symons told Reuters.

The destruction prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to deploy state emergency response resources “to meet urgent life-safety needs.”

“I encourage all Texans to heed the guidance of state and local officials and to take all necessary precautions to protect yourselves and your loved ones,” Abbott said in a statement.

Joe Puma, a broadcast meteorologist based in Amarillo, tweeted Thursday’s tornado in Perryton marked the first deadly twister in the Texas Panhandle in nearly two decades.

The tornado in Perryton was just one of more than 450 reports of severe weather logged by the National Weather Service through Friday morning, most of them in Oklahoma and Texas but some as far away as Ohio and Florida. At least seven tornadoes were reported, most of them touching down near the Oklahoma-Texas border.

Wind gusts along a fast-moving complex of storm surpassed 80 mph as it swept from Oklahoma and Texas into the Gulf Coast states.

Texans were still facing faced widespread power outages Friday morning according to PowerOutage.us, which reported that around 230,000 customers were without electricity. In neighboring Louisiana about 180,000 customers were affected, and 160,000 in Mississippi.

The storms also unleashed giant hail and flooding rains. Hail to the size of softballs were reported in Texas and Oklahoma, among over 100 reports of large hail.

Massive hail from Sanger, Texas tonight. This is insane. I spoke with the individual who took this image, Venessa Henderson (shared with permission here). She stated this occurred near the Pit Stop in town. Would love to see some official measurements here! pic.twitter.com/ZL3fuvxTg2

Around Pensacola, slow-moving thunderstorms unloaded 10 to 16 inches of rain Thursday night, prompting a flash flood emergency for the area, the most severe flood alert. The flooding prompted the evacuation of 135 residents from an apartment complex in Pensacola, television affiliate FOX10 reported. A flash flood warning remained in effect for the general area until 10:15 a.m. Central Friday as severe thunderstorms were predicted to drop an additional 2 to 5 inches of rain.

The Pensacola News Journal reported a confirmed tornado also passed through the area overnight, and one person was killed when a tree fell on their home.

The outbreak of severe thunderstorms with destructive winds, large hail and tornadoes began Wednesday morning and has continued to threaten parts of the Deep South and Southeast.

Severe storms are possible across the Plains, South and Mid-Atlantic on Friday, but should generally not be as widespread and intense as the activity on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Both Saturday and Sunday could also bring a scattering of severe storms across the southern states.

The repeated outburst of storms is being fueled by extreme heat and humidity building over southern Texas and oozing northeastward. The heat index climbed as high as 115 degrees in southern Texas Thursday and sauna-like conditions swelled as far north as Dallas, which matched its highest humidity level on record.

Heat advisories and excessive heat warnings cover much of southern Texas and Louisiana Friday, and the sweltering conditions are predicted to linger well into next week.

Andrew Jeong and Victoria Bisset contributed to this report.