Deadly severe weather outbreak ongoing as tornadoes rip through South

PORTER, Tex. — A deadly severe weather outbreak swept across the South Saturday evening, spawning multiple tornadoes across three states and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. 

One person died as one of those tornadoes swept through Texas’ Brazoria County, south of Houston, according to Manvel Mayor Dan Davis. Additional damage reports came in from Louisiana and Mississippi. 

A rare Particularly Dangerous Situation Tornado Watch was issued, and dozens of Tornado Warnings have wailed across the South into Saturday evening, with hours of dangerous weather still to go. 

Multiple tornadoes cause damage near Houston on Saturday

Multiple tornadoes struck in southeastern Texas on the outskirts of Houston earlier in the day Saturday, causing significant damage to towns both north and south of the nation’s fourth-largest city.

DRONE VIDEO SHOWS TORNADO DAMAGE AFTER DEADLY STORMS RIP THROUGH HOUSTON AREA

Drone video showed several buildings suffering damage in Porter Heights north of Houston.

Spotters reported multiple mobile homes were hit, and the twister caused significant damage to a brick home and the East Montgomery Fire Department building, according to the National Weather Service office in Houston.

“There have been no reported injuries to our firehouse team at 154, and all pending calls have been cleared,” officials at the fire station wrote in a Facebook post.

In an update posted on Facebook, Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough said at least 15 people were trapped in homes after the storms, but they have been rescued.

FOX 26 Houston reporter Shelby Rose walked through one of the neighborhoods that suffered a direct strike from the tornado, finding some homes damaged or even destroyed.

One family had nearly finished constructing a new home, but now it lay destroyed amid the tornadic ruins.

“This family was just about to move inside,” Rose said. “(The mother) is now in tears to see what once would have been her brand-new home, is now rubble.”

One killed in Brazoria County, Texas

Another report showed significant damage near the towns of Alvin and Liverpool, to the south of Houston. 

Multiple homes were destroyed, and substation debris was seen on State Highway 35. 

Mayor Dan Davis of nearby Manvel said on X that he received confirmation that at least one person was killed by the storm as it tore through Brazoria County. He didn’t provide any further details about the death.

A family in nearby Liverpool had to scramble to take shelter as the tornado raced to their property.

Jose Ramirez told FOX 26 Houston reporter Jonathan Mejia he heard loud rain and thunder and ran back in to get his wife and dogs to run to a more sturdy shelter. 

“When he came back out, he saw all this,” Mejia said, gesturing to the debris and damage scattered through the yard. “He tells me this was all reduced to nothing in a matter of seconds.”

Video taken near the Houston suburb of Katy showed a funnel hovering above the ground earlier in the day. Spotters reported damage to a mobile home park near Noel Lane.

HOW YOU SHOULD PREPARE FOR A TORNADO

Trailers flipped in Mississippi as tornado swept through

More damage came in from southern Mississippi where a large tornado rolled through the town of Bude, tossing multiple trailer homes, according to FOX Weather Storm Trackers Corey Gerken and Brandon Copic. 

“There were a couple mobile homes that literally were flipped — upended both ways,” Copic said. “And thankfully no injuries from what I saw. But there were injuries further down.  A woman had minor injuries from my understanding. Thankfully, nothing catastrophic from what I’m being told.”

Port Arthur just missed a strong tornado

The tornado that swept near Liverpool would go on a more than four-hour, 120-mile journey along Texas’ Gulf Coast, tracking just north of Galveston and nearly making a direct hit on the town of Port Arthur.

The National Weather Service issued multiple Tornado Warnings on the twister, even denoting it as their more dire “particularly dangerous situation” type warning. 

For several minutes, it appeared the heart of Port Arthur and its nearly 50,000 people would be in the crosshairs of the tornado, but luckily the storm veered just to the south, tracking over Sabine Lake instead.

“Overall, we have had minor property damage, downed power lines, and 2 reported minor injuries from debris,” Capt. Crystal Holmes of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office told FOX Weather. “One of our citizens homes was destroyed by the tornado.”

Severe weather threat moves east Sunday

The dangerous storms will march east by Sunday, with the worst weather expected in a swath that stretches from Virginia to Florida. Tornadoes, damaging wind and hail are possible with any severe storms that develop in this zone.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER