DEEP SOUTH

Texas and Louisiana saw strong winds, tornadoes, and widespread power outages as the powerful storm system that brought snow to California moves eastward.

Many dramatic scenes were caught on video. The severe weather left hundreds of thousands of customers in the dark in Texas at one point. The storm dumped heavy snow in California.

Wind gusts of over 70 mph (112 kph) were reported in Texas as tornado watches were issued into Thursday night in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. “If your phone’s alerted and you hear sirens, that is for wind speeds as strong as a weak tornado,” the weather service tweeted. Get inside, away from windows!”The Dallas suburb of Richardson asked residents to stop using water after the storm knocked out power to pumping stations. In Louisiana, a tornado touched down near Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Meteorologists say the same storm produced a "once-in-a-generation" snow in California and Oregon with up to 7 feet (2 meters) accumulating in spots.

Wind gusts of over 70 mph (112 kph) were reported in Texas as tornado watches were issued into Thursday night in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. “If your phone’s alerted and you hear sirens, that is for wind speeds as strong as a weak tornado,” the weather service tweeted. Get inside, away from windows!”The Dallas suburb of Richardson asked residents to stop using water after the storm knocked out power to pumping stations. In Louisiana, a tornado touched down near Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Meteorologists say the same storm produced a "once-in-a-generation" snow in California and Oregon with up to 7 feet (2 meters) accumulating in spots.

Parts of the Deep South are once again under the gun for severe weather.

West, Deep South and Plains are main trouble spots

The one-two punch of frigid Arctic air and a major winter storm could cause significant travel issues leading up to Christmas.

The same storm system responsible for damaging tornadoes in the southern Plains and deep South and a crippling blizzard in the northern Plains will bring the threat for strong storms.

It's not just the Senate runoff. It's the entire shift the state has seen in recent years.

A 39-year-old Alabama woman and her 8-year-old son were killed by one of dozens of tornadoes that swept across the Deep South over the past two days.

A line of severe storms tore across the Deep South on Tuesday , spawning more than two dozen tornadoes that left a trail of destruction from Louisiana to Georgia. According to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center , at least 36 tornadoes were reported in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, though not all were confirmed. In Flatwood, Ala., two people died when their home was struck by a tree during a tornado, the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency said. “I have seen some really nice mobile homes tied down,” Hale County Emergency Management Director Russell Weeden said. A tornado watch was in effect for parts of southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and extreme southwestern Georgia until 11 a.m. CT.

— Thunderstorms pummeled the Deep South late Tuesday and early Wednesday, bringing tornadoes, hail, floods and power outages to the region, officials said. >> Read more trending newsAccording to The Associated Press, the National Weather Service said confirmed tornadoes struck Mississippi on Tuesday. Overnight, the storm system slammed Alabama, where a suspected tornado damaged several Hale County homes, the AP reported. Officials across the region had not reported any severe injuries by Wednesday morning, according to the AP. – The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the first time in 20 years, Libertarians will be on the ballot in Alabama. Libertarians will be present in the races for U.S. Senate, governor, and more in the election.

Nearly 200 years after the last Creek Indians were forcibly removed to make way for slave labor in the Deep South, the Muscogee Creek Nation backs an initiative to put the National Park Service in charge of protecting the heart of the Creek Confederacy (Sept. 21) (AP Video: Sharon Johnson)

Extreme heat offers little relief for millions of Americans With temperatures hovering in the mid-90's, people walk near a sign down Hanover Street in the North End, during a summer heat wave, Thursday, July 21, 2022, in Boston. Dangerously high temperatures Thursday threatened much of the Northeast and Deep South as millions of Americans sought comfort from air-conditioners, fire hydrants, fountains and cooling centers. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (Charles Krupa/AP)Oppressive heat choked U.S. cities from Boston to Sacramento on Sunday, as more than 85 million Americans broiled under excessive heat advisories issued by the National Weather Service. - #Heat will be an issue for parts of the East, the south-central U.S. and begin building in the Northwest. pic.twitter.com/oZoTIvLLuV — National Weather Service (@NWS) July 24, 2022Meanwhile, four deaths have been attributed to the sultry conditions in recent weeks.

Another multi-day severe weather outbreak is on tap for the central, southern and eastern U.S. regions this week. See who is at risk.

The storm could cause travel problems and power outages across a wide part of the Eastern United States through early next week.

The system is referred to by some as an ominous-sounding "bomb cyclone." “With this bomb cyclone, maybe what’s the biggest concern is how late in the season its coming and that it’s traveling over inland areas,” said Judah Cohen, a winter storm expert for Atmospheric Environmental Research, a commercial firm outside of Boston. A bomb cyclone has nothing to do with explosions, except in how explosive a storm develops. There are usually several bomb cyclones a winter near the East, but many are over the ocean and no one is affected, Cohen said. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning from the Deep South to northern Maine.

Forecasters say a powerful, late-winter storm combining rivers of moisture and frigid temperatures is expected to dump snow from the Deep South all the way north to the Canadian border over the weekend.

“The weather is wildly unpredictable.”More than a foot (30 centimeters) of snow fell in parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New England. Slippery roads caused scores of vehicles to slide off roads, even before anticipated deteriorating conditions during the evening rush hour. In New York’s Hudson Valley, the Catskill Animal Sanctuary was relying on generators for power Friday after the overnight ice storm. In New England, some places welcomed the winter weather, which was a boon for skiers and snowmobilers. ___Sharp reported from Portland, Maine; Foody reported from Chicago; and Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas.

“The weather is wildly unpredictable.”More than a foot (30 centimeters) of snow fell in parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New England. Slippery roads caused scores of vehicles to slide off roads, even before anticipated deteriorating conditions during the evening rush hour. In New York’s Hudson Valley, the Catskill Animal Sanctuary was relying on generators for power Friday after the overnight ice storm. In New England, some places welcomed the winter weather, which was a boon for skiers and snowmobilers. ___Sharp reported from Portland, Maine; Foody reported from Chicago; and Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas.

Additional power outages were reported in New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. “It was pretty surreal for a little while,” LaRosa, a professor at Rhodes College and a book editor, said Friday. In New York’s Hudson Valley, the Catskill Animal Sanctuary was relying on generators for power Friday after the overnight ice storm. In New England, some places welcomed the winter weather, which was a boon for skiers and snowmobilers. ___Sharp reported from Portland, Maine; Foody reported from Chicago; and Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas.

Winter Weather Oklahoma The sun rises over Tulsa, Okla., Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. “Snow is a lot easier to plow than ice,” said Rick Otto, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland. Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed Friday at LaGuardia Airport in New York, Boston's Logan Airport and Newark Liberty Airport. In New York’s Hudson Valley, the Catskill Animal Sanctuary was relying on generators for power Friday after the overnight ice storm. The storm came on the heels of a nor'easter last weekend that brought blizzard conditions to many parts of the East Coast.

Northeast residents were urged to stay off the roads with temperatures beginning to drop Friday evening as a major winter storm turned already slippery roads and sidewalks into ice-covered hazards.

A massive storm moving through the Deep South and eventually up into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast will bring windy and much colder weather into Central Florida Sunday.

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It may surprise you to know that while uncommon, nor’easters do sometimes impact the Sunshine State.

Here's what you're looking at for your trick-or-treat forecast.

Louis Dekmar enjoys strong support in his community but faces much criticism from police leaders elsewhere.

Health experts say the latest wave of the pandemic has peaked. But an estimated 70 million eligible Americans remain unvaccinated and vulnerable to the highly contagious delta variant.

But many Northern states are still struggling with rising cases, and what’s ahead for winter is far less clear. New cases are on the downswing at about 112,000 per day on average, a drop of about one-third over the past 2 1/2 weeks. Arizona currently is 11th highest among states in the number of COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began, and sixth in the number of deaths per 100,000 population. Gavin Newsom says the mandate won’t take effect until the COVID-19 vaccine has received final approval from the U.S. government for various grade levels. The state’s vaccine mandate would take effect the semester after the federal government grants final approval.

But many Northern states are still struggling with rising cases, and what’s ahead for winter is far less clear. Nationwide, the number of people now in the hospital with COVID-19 has fallen to somewhere around 75,000 from over 93,000 in early September. At the peak of this most recent wave, Ochsner hospitals had 1,074 COVID-19 patients on Aug. 9. The University of Mississippi Medical Center had 146 hospitalized COVID-19 patients at its mid-August peak. Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia, South Carolina, had more than 190 in early September but just 49 on Friday.

But many Northern states are still struggling with rising cases, and what’s ahead for winter is far less clear. At the peak of this most recent wave, Ochsner hospitals had 1,074 COVID-19 patients on Aug. 9. The University of Mississippi Medical Center had 146 hospitalized COVID-19 patients at its mid-August peak. Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia, South Carolina, had more than 190 in early September but just 49 on Friday. “We need to make sure we are ready for winter because our hospitals are exhausted.”___Johnson reported from Washington state.

A decline in COVID-19 cases across the United States over the past several weeks has given overwhelmed hospitals some relief, but administrators are bracing for yet another possible surge as cold weather drives people indoors. Health experts say the fourth wave of the pandemic has peaked overall in the U.S., particularly in the Deep South, where hospitals were stretched to the limit weeks ago. An estimated 70 million eligible Americans remain unvaccinated, providing kindling for the highly contagious delta variant.

The storm, which reached hurricane strength, made landfall then weakened back to tropical storm status. It's bringing pounding rain and strong winds to the region.

The storm, which reached hurricane strength, made landfall then weakened back to tropical storm status. It's bringing pounding rain and strong winds to the region.

The 2022 edition of the Old Farmer's Almanac is forecasting an extra-chilly winter for Americans this year.

APTOPIX Tropical Weather A flooded neighborhood is seen after Tropical Storm Claudette passed through in Slidell, La., Saturday, June 19, 2021. A tropical storm warning was in effect in North Carolina from the Little River Inlet to the town of Duck on the Outer Banks. A tropical storm watch was issued South Santee River, South Carolina, to the Little River Inlet, forecasters said. Claudette was expected to cross into the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, and regain tropical storm strength over eastern North Carolina. Separately, Tropical Storm Dolores made landfall on Mexico’s west coast with near-hurricane force.

Claudette was declared organized enough to qualify as a named tropical storm early Saturday morning, well after the storm's center of circulation had come ashore southwest of New Orleans.

According to GasBuddy, a website that tracks gas prices and availability based on real-time fuel prices at more than 140,000 gas stations, shortages of gasoline supplies are hitting more stations due to panic buying. Across the states serviced by the pipeline, gas prices jumped Tuesday anywhere from 6 cents in North Carolina to 10 cents a gallon in Georgia. With shortages growing across the area the pipeline serves, GasBuddy has activated a fuel availability tracker for stations in the affected states. You can download the GasBuddy app, enter a zip code and find which stations in that area have gasoline. You can go here to download the GasBuddy app.

A national effort helping to bail poor and low-income people out of jail formally announced on Tuesday its expansion into the Deep South. “ Bail Out the South ” is the next phase of The Bail Project’s plans to secure freedom for thousands of people over the next few years, organizers told The Associated Press. Although larger criminal legal systems throughout the country have begun doing away with cash bail for certain low-level, nonviolent offenses, the South continues to have the highest jail incarceration rates and the starkest racial disparities among those imprisoned pretrial.

Approaching one year anniversary of the Easter Tornado Outbreak across the Deep South. We take a look back at the damages.

Deadly tornadoes tear across South, leaving death and destruction in their path Violent weather and deadly tornadoes barrel across the deep South, toppling trees, demolishing homes and knocking out power to thousands of residents. At least five fatalities and an unknown number of injuries were reported. Omar Villafranca reports from hard-hit Alabama.

Officials found “heavy, heavy damage” in parts of the city’s historic district, Newnan Fire Chief Stephen Brown told a news conference. One of the victims in the hard-hit town of Ohatchee, a small community of about 1,170 people in eastern Alabama, was Dwight Jennings' neighbor. AdBad weather wasn't limited to Georgia and Alabama. ___Chandler reported from Shelby County, Alabama. Associated Press journalists Kevin McGill in New Orleans; Desiree Mathurin in Atlanta; Jeff Martin in Marietta, Georgia; Butch Dill in Ohatchee, Alabama; and Rebecca Santana in New Orleans, contributed to this report.

Thursday, the Storm Prediction Center highlighted some of the same areas as last week’s outbreak with their rare high risk tag for the likelihood of another tornado outbreak. The high risk category is the highest level on the Storm Prediction Center’s outlook scale and reserved for the most extreme severe weather outbreaks. Severe weather setupThis outbreak has the potential to be even worse than last Wednesday’s outbreak of severe weather. Any discrete, kidney bean-shaped cell in the future radar has the potential to produce long-lived strong tornadoes. These storms will not move into Central Florida as a strong area of high pressure forces these storms to stay north of our area.

Parts of the Deep South are in highlighted in a rare high risk. ORLANDO, Fla. – The Storm Prediction Center has highlighted parts of the Deep South in a rare “high risk” for severe weather. A severe weather threat, like the one unfolding Wednesday, only occurs once or twice a year, on average. AdThe severe weather threat moves east Thursday. Severe threat ThursdayA few strong storms will be possible Thursday evening and early Friday across Central Florida.

South prepares for severe weather and dangerous tornadoes Four states in the deep South are under the highest possible tornado warning as dangerous severe weather is expected Wednesday. CBS News meteorologist and climate specialist Jeff Berardelli has the details.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Rounds of significant winter weather have forced most of the US into a deep freeze. Following a historic snowstorm earlier in the week that brought heavy snow from Seattle to Texas and into the Great Lakes region, nearly 75 percent of the country has snow on the ground. AdThe snow made it all the way down to the Gulf Coast in Texas Monday. pic.twitter.com/Lj3eWUf2y0 — Justin Stapleton (@KPRC2Justin) February 15, 2021More snow and ice will be likely across the Deep South and Mid Atlantic through the upcoming weekend. How many inches of snow fell in your area?

Millions of people remained without power amid subfreezing temperatures, and authorities warned of treacherous travel conditions in many states. Four million people lost power in Mexico. Texas officials requested 60 generators from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and planned to prioritize hospitals and nursing homes. Mayor Sylvester Turner said other warming centers had to be shut down because they lost power. Texas officials said more than 400,000 additional doses due now will not arrive until at least Wednesday because of the storm.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Parts of the Southern Plains and Deep South will be dealing with the white stuff Sunday into Monday. A storm system will dive into the Plains from Southern Rockies bringing with it the potential for heavy snow in parts of Central and Northern Texas. Rain, snow and ice spread across Texas Sunday. A widespread 3-6′” of snow is forecast through Central Texas with isolated amounts of up to 8″ possible. Winter weather alertsA Winter Storm Watch is in effect for much of Central Texas and Northwest Louisiana.

New Year's storm moves snow, ice across the U.S. Heavy snow is falling from Oklahoma to the Mexican border in Texas, and there could be tornadoes Thursday in parts of the deep South. CBS News meteorologist and climate specialist Jeff Berardelli shares what to expect in the coming days.

Abrams, the onetime candidate for Georgia governor who has become perhaps the nation's leading voice on voting rights, is being credited for paving those inroads. “There’s a lot of work that’s gone into this, but Stacey really is the architect of what’s been built in Georgia,” said Dubose Porter, the former Georgia Democratic Party chairman and an Abrams mentor. The 2018 campaign marked a notable shift in Georgia Democrats’ overall approach. They’d do it by reshaping the electorate, by exciting the expanding universe of potentially Democratic voters: the youngest native white Georgians; whites from beyond Georgia; Black voters who cast ballots sporadically; Black voters moving to Georgia from other regions; and a growing Latino and Asian-American population. “We’ll take on Antifa, Black Lives Matter, Fair Fight, Stacey Abrams and all of them.”Trump himself was an accelerating variable in Georgia’s shift, pushing some white suburbanites toward Democrats.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jaime Harrison speaks at a campaign rally on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)COLUMBIA, S.C. – In the battle for control of the U.S. Senate this year, the Deep South is fielding more Black candidates than it has since Reconstruction. Mike Espy and Adrian Perkins, meanwhile, are launching spirited bids for the Senate in Mississippi and Louisiana, respectively. The Senate currently has three Black members: Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina and Democrats Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California. “The more competitive races are, and Black candidates win those competitive races, it diminishes this worry that Black candidates can’t win,” Abrams recently told The Associated Press. In Mississippi, Espy is trying for a second time to become the state’s first Black senator since Reconstruction with his challenge to Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith.

Severe weather has swept across the South, killing at least 19 people and damaging hundreds of homes from Louisiana into the Appalachian Mountains. Two other bodies were pulled from damaged homes in Arkansas and South Carolina. Mississippi's death toll rose to 11 early Monday, the state's emergency management agency tweeted, promising details later in the morning. Several apparent tornadoes spun up in South Carolina, where dozens of homes appeared damaged in a line from Seneca to Clemson. In Alabama, lightning struck the Shoals Creek Baptist Church in Priceville, damaging the roof and steeple, Morgan County Emergency Management Agency Eddie Hicks told AL.com.

Tallahassee, Florida From the Deep South to the Midwest, rivers in nine states are above flood stage, threatening homes and businesses. Tens of millions of Americans could wake up Friday to below zero temperatures. Heavy rain caused a mud and rock slide, resulting in a train wreck in Pike County, Kentucky, Thursday morning. Absolutely insane video of two CSX workers climbing from the burning wreckage after a train derailment in Pike County. Over the next 48 hours, 38 million Americans will be at or below zero degrees.

Weeks of dry, hot weather have plunged the Deep South further into a drought that's affecting more than 11 million people and threatening crops across the region, a new assessment showed Thursday. The latest report from U.S. Drought Monitor showed arid conditions worsening across a five-state area from Louisiana to South Carolina . Conditions are particularly bad in Alabama and Georgia, where nearly the entire state is too dry. Drought conditions extend into northern Florida and the southern Great Lakes region. Farmers say the dry weather is hurting their crops, and Alabama has declared a statewide fire alert because of extremely dry weather.

11/9: Deep freeze: Country braces for arctic chill; Blind man conquers the Grand Canyon Over the course of the next week, the coldest air since last winter will arrive. And as CBS Boston's chief meteorologist Eric Fisher explains, frigid temperatures will stretch well into the Deep South; and, Dan Berlin knew walking the Grand Canyon from rim to rim and back to the starting point was going to be tough. He is virtually blind and every step is a potential pitfall, which is why he realized the only way he could do this was with friends.

Deep freeze: Country braces for arctic chill Over the course of the next week, the coldest air since last winter will arrive. And as CBS Boston's chief meteorologist Eric Fisher explains, frigid temperatures will stretch well into the Deep South.