CNN
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A major nationwide storm is producing damaging hurricanes in the South and punishing blizzard conditions in Colorado and the Plains that have shut down interstate shutters and disrupted travel.
The storm system, which is moving eastward across the country – now continuing in the central U.S. – is fueling severe weather being felt across the country, with at least five confirmed tornadoes reported in Texas and many others. Storms destroyed homes in the Oklahoma and Dallas-Fort Worth area on Tuesday, injuring at least seven people.
According to Farmerville Police Detective Cade Nolan, at least 20 people were injured in Louisiana Tuesday night after a tornado struck the small Union Parish town of Farmerville.
“This is the worst damage I’ve seen in 17 years,” Nolan told CNN.
Nolan said first responders were still searching for people in the early hours of Wednesday morning, adding that many were injured while traveling in cars.
Meanwhile about 10 With millions of people — largely in the north-central U.S. — under winter weather warnings or advisories, blizzards and power outages are a major concern. Another 6 million people in the northeast will be under winter storm bouts Wednesday.
As the storm continues to move eastward, different regions can expect:
- Hurricanes and damaging winds are possible Wednesday in southern Louisiana, southern and central Mississippi, southern Alabama, and parts of the western Florida Panhandle.
- There is a risk of severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall over the Lower Mississippi Valley and Central Gulf Coast through Thursday.
- Upper Midwest Expect heavy snow, rain and freezing rain on Wednesday
- Freezing rain and snowfall is expected to continue across the Plains, then shift to the Upper Midwest by Wednesday, making travel dangerous.
A sister storm is developing in parts of the Mid-Atlantic by Thursday, with the storm over the Central Plains expected to move northeast into the Upper Great Lakes, according to the Weather Forecast Center. Several days of heavy snow, strong winds and freezing rain will continue to stir up extreme weather conditions in the north-central US through Thursday evening.
More than 3 million people in parts of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas were under hurricane bouts as early as Wednesday. Possible hurricanes, hail and winds of up to 120 km/h continue to be among the main threats.
There have been multiple reports of hurricanes and hail since Tuesday.
Videos showed power lines cut and homes destroyed in Texas, Decatur, and Blue Ridge and Wayne, Oklahoma, after the storm took over severe weather.
Grapevine police said the storms injured at least five people just outside of Dallas. Police said businesses including Grapevine mall, Sam’s Club and Walmart were damaged.
County officials said two more people were injured and homes and businesses damaged in Wise County, northwest of Fort Worth, on Tuesday morning. Authorities said that one person was injured when the wind overturned his vehicle, and another person in a vehicle was injured due to flying debris.

Earlier on Tuesday, a confirmed EF2 tornado in Wayne, Oklahoma, cut off electricity and damaged homes, outbuildings and barns, but no injuries were reported.
In Caddo Parish, Louisiana, a storm knocked down power lines and trees and damaged several structures. The deputies were going door to door checking the residents of the neighborhood.
The Louisiana American Red Cross said that a tornado that affected at least 10 homes in Keithville, located in Caddo Parish, was reported.
About 100 miles across the state in Farmerville, Tiyia Stringfellow told CNN she was in her apartment when a tornado hit. She was with her boyfriend and two young children, and they all escaped injury, she said.
“We were in the kitchen cupboard,” Stringfellow said. “All we heard was a whistling sound and my boyfriend got up and looked out the window and (he saw) the hose, the whole house was shaking and I (I saw) my roof collapsed and the house went dark.”
As of Wednesday, parts of southern Louisiana, southern and central Mississippi, southern Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle still face the threat of severe weather.
Cities like New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana and Mobile, Alabama can see several strong tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail.
The storm can also bring sporadic hurricanes, hail and damaging winds from the Texas-Louisiana border to northern Florida’s Panhandle, central Mississippi, Alabama and western Georgia.
By Thursday, the threat will weaken to a slight risk of severe weather as the storm moves towards the East Coast.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, blizzard conditions in the Northern and Mid-High Plains are expected to make travel on snow-covered roads dangerous between snow rates of 1-2 inches per hour and winds of 50-60 miles per hour.
NWS metrologist Bill Taylor said a “five-year storm” hit parts of Nebraska on Tuesday and is expected to linger in the area by the end of the week.

Snowstorm warnings are in effect throughout the state, and the state’s Department of Transportation said many roads are closed, including all roads from Nebraska to Colorado.
Residents will struggle with near-zero visibility and possible scattered power outages that make travel difficult.
In South Dakota, schools in the Rapid City area closed on Tuesday and will remain closed Wednesday due to snow conditions in the area, the school district said on Facebook.
State transportation officials said winter weather conditions on Tuesday caused both the east and west lanes of Interstate 90, which runs from Rapid City to the Wyoming state line, to be closed.
The Storm Prediction Center said heavy snow and strong winds will spread across the Northern Plains into the Upper Midwest on Wednesday and Thursday.
Freezing rain and snowfall is expected to continue across the Plains, then shift to the Upper Midwest by Wednesday, making travel dangerous again.
“Strong winds and cold temperatures will continue even after this storm is over, creating severe cold winds,” the National Weather Service said.
As the second storm develops over the Southern Appalachian Mountains and moves into the Mid-Atlantic on Thursday, residents can expect heavy snowfall in the Lower Great Lakes, Central Appalachian Mountains and parts of the North Mid-Atlantic.