2 killed in Mississippi as powerful U.S. storms bring threats

NEW ORLEANS — Powerful storms killed two people in Mississippi, tore the roofs off an apartment building and a nursing home in a small town in Oklahoma and threatened more communities across the nation Tuesday with wide-ranging weather.

The large storm system also brought blinding dust storms to the Southwest, blizzards with whiteout conditions to the Midwest and raised fears of wildfires in other parts of the country.

In Irving, Texas, a tornado with winds up to 110 mph struck, while another touched down in the 16,000-resident city of Ada, Oklahoma, according to preliminary information from the National Weather Service. There were also two tornadoes in Louisiana’s northern Caddo Parish, with winds up to 93 mph.

In New Orleans, high winds forced some changes to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The city moved up and shortened the celebration’s two biggest parades to wrap them up before high winds moved in.

The weather didn’t stop Shalaska Jones and her 2-year-old daughter from waving at passing Mardi Gras floats and hoping to catch one of the coveted coconuts thrown to the crowd.

“We was coming out rain, sleet or snow,” Jones said.

The alarming weather could be one of the first big tests for the National Weather Service after hundreds of forecasters were fired last week as part of President Donald Trump’s moves to slash the size of the federal government. Former employees said the firing of meteorologists who make crucial local forecasts across the U.S. could put lives at risk, though it was too soon to know the impact on forecasts and warnings for this storm.

Nation faces a number of weather threats

Storms that swept through Texas and Oklahoma brought high winds and rain, overturning tractor-trailers and damaging roofs. Nearly 400,000 customers were without power in Texas, about 30,000 in Louisiana, another 25,000 in Mississippi, about 21,000 in Alabama and nearly 15,000 in Oklahoma, according to PowerOutage.us.

More outages were expected as a line of storms raced across Mississippi and Louisiana and headed for Alabama, producing gusts of 70 mph, the weather service said.

In San Antonio, Texas, high winds caused at least two grass fires that damaged several structures and prompted officials to order mandatory evacuations in two areas south of the city. One of the fires spread to about 60 acres and prompted officials to call for the evacuation of about 30 homes, San Antonio Fire Chief Valerie Frausto told reporters.

By late Tuesday afternoon, the Texas A&M Forest Service was responding to 13 active wildfires across the state, said service spokesman Adam Turner.

In North Texas, strong thunderstorms with gusts over 70 mph damaged apartments, schools and RVs. At the Las Haciendas Apartments in Irving, northwest of Dallas, strong winds blew out windows and the brick siding along the walls of one of the buildings.

The storms knocked out power to several Irving schools. In Plano, north of Dallas, winds tore off parts of a high school’s metal roof. In Parker County, west of Fort Worth, firefighters responded after at least three RV trailers were overturned by strong winds.

The Central Plains and Midwest were bracing for blizzard conditions that forecasters warned could make travel treacherous.

Schools will be closed Wednesday in several southern Minnesota school districts due to blizzard conditions that are expected to dump 5 to 11 inches of snow on the area. Even more concerning were winds that were expected to gust over 50 mph and stay high into Wednesday.

South Dakota was expected to receive up to 5 inches of snow in some areas, and by Tuesday evening, high winds had already deteriorated road conditions.

Jay Jones, who works at Love’s Truck Stop in Sioux Falls, said he saw garbage cans flying around as winds gusted around 50 mph. Parts of Interstate 29 heading north to North Dakota were shut down by the weather.

“It looks really bad out there,” Jones said, adding that he walked to work so he’s “going to have to tough it out” on his way home.

In Des Moines, Iowa, gusts up to 65 mph were expected Tuesday night — a rare occurrence, forecasters said.

Nationwide, more than 500 flights were canceled, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks delays and cancellations. Airports in Dallas canceled the most flights among U.S. airports.

Region braces for severe weather during Mardi Gras

New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick ordered parade-goers to not bring umbrellas, tents or “anything that could fly in the wind and cause mayhem.” In neighboring Jefferson Parish, officials canceled planned Mardi Gras Day parades due to anticipated high winds and thunderstorms.

Even with winds sweeping through New Orleans, the city’s festive Bourbon Street was packed with revelers clad in purple, gold and yellow, shouting for bead necklaces tossed from balconies into the evening.

Ashley Luna and her aunt danced and skipped down Bourbon Street holding beverages beneath the darkening sky, unconcerned about the evening’s prospects.

“The weather can always change. I’m not really worried about it,” Luna said. “I am just going with the flow.”