COLUMBIA, Miss., Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The death toll in Mississippi has risen to four after multiple tornadoes touched down across the U.S. southeast Tuesday.
A swath of severe weather stretched from as far west as Louisiana and as far north as Ohio and Pennsylvania, delaying heavy holiday travel and causing destruction.
The Marion County, Miss., coroner said two people died as a result of storms that moved through the Columbia, Miss., region. The nature of those deaths were not reported. Another two people were reported dead in Jones County, the sheriff there said, after a mobile home was destroyed.
There were reports of at least one tornado touching down in southern Mississippi around 2 p.m., tearing the roofs off a daycare center and the Marion County Hospital, overturning vehicles and destroying businesses. Downed trees have damaged power lines and caused outages.
Some people in Sumerall, Miss., were trapped inside their homes due to damage.
More tornadoes were possibly spotted near Valdosta, Ga., and Amite City, La., causing tree and power line damage.
According to the National Weather Service, the severe weather is expected to stick around throughout the southeast on Wednesday and clear much of the south by Thursday. Pennsylvania and further north will still experience rain on Christmas Day.
