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ATLANTA (AP) — Over the weekend, a powerful storm system moved through the Southeast, triggering tornado warnings in Mississippi and Louisiana before setting its sights on Georgia and Florida. Meanwhile, residents in the Northeast were finally experiencing relief from weeks of frigid temperatures.
In Southern Louisiana, particularly around Lake Charles, the storm unleashed some of its most intense conditions. Strong winds from a thunderstorm overturned a horse trailer and a Mardi Gras float, damaged an airport jet bridge, and hurled a house’s metal awning into power lines. This damage was assessed by National Weather Service teams who inspected the area.
In Louisiana, power poles were snapped and brought down in the towns of Jena, Cheneyville, and Donaldsonville, according to reports from the weather service.
Fortunately, there were no reported fatalities or serious injuries. However, as the storm progressed into southern Georgia and the Florida Panhandle, tornado watches remained in effect on Sunday.
The storms caused some power outages throughout the southern states, though they were not as severe as those caused by last month’s ice storms in northern Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee. By Sunday night, several thousand residents in Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Virginia were still without power, according to PowerOutage.us, which monitors power disruptions nationwide.
Meanwhile, the Northeast was beginning to thaw after a weekslong stretch of uncommonly cold weather.
Boston was running nearly 7 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 14 Celsius) below average for February last week, and the city was on pace for its coldest winter in more than a decade. Boston remained cold on Sunday, but this week’s forecast called for temperatures climbing into the high 30s and low 40s, which is closer to the seasonal average.
On the West Coast, much of California braced for a powerful winter storm that was expected to bring drenching thunderstorms, damaging winds and heavy snow in mountain areas. Jacob Spender, a weather service meteorologist in Sacramento, urged people to take precautions in the coming days.
“So if they are traveling, packing winter safety kits. Anything to be prepared. This is a bigger system, and a major system,” Spender said.
Rain that began Sunday in the San Francisco Bay Area was forecast to intensify throughout the day and overnight, bringing the risk of flooding. Forecasters said the Sierra Nevada, including ski resorts around Lake Tahoe, could see up to seven feet (two meters) of snow before the storm moves through late Wednesday.
To the south, Los Angeles area residents in some neighborhoods scarred by last year’s devastating wildfires were under an evacuation warning through Tuesday because of the potential for mud and debris flows. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she’s ordered emergency crews and city departments to prepare to respond to any problems.
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