Sleepless night in Southeast after deadly severe outbreak rocks the area with tornado reports – msnNOW

Reports of tornadoes, hail and frightening winds blasted the Deep South on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. Over 20,000 residents from Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle woke up without power, if they were able to get any sleep at all.

The first of the severe weather reports began trickling in with a blast of hail in the far east corner of Texas in Beaumont. At 10:51 a.m., CST, reports of quarter-sized hail were recorded, with damage reports running east quickly thereafter.

In Louisiana, hail was first recorded in Singer shortly before 11 a.m., local time, and pieces the size of ping-pong balls were reported in Lacamp less than an hour later.

A construction area in New Orleans was the site of the outbreak's first injury reports, as scaffolding over a pedestrian sidewalk collapsed amid high winds. According to the New Orleans Emergency Medical Services, one individual was transported with minor injuries.

AccuWeather Meteorologist Isaac Longley said the severe burst was birthed in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Ample moisture from the Gulf of Mexico fueled these storms, causing flash flooding to occur in many spots due to heavy rainfall," Longley said. "In addition to flooding, many storms produced damaging wind gusts and even a few possible tornadoes, which brought down trees and resulted in structural damage across the states of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee."

From New Orleans into Alabama and Mississippi, the damage from high winds and tornadoes raged on for hours.

The first tornado report came from a spotter in Simpson County in Mississippi. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Prediction Center (SPC), trees were downed and structural damage was reported in the Martinville area. Minutes later, a storm chaser had visual confirmation of the possible tornado and more reports of downed trees and power lines were confirmed on Highway 540.

"I heard a roaring sound, kinda like a freight train coming, like when it's breaking down to a slow speed, and well by the time I got to the door to look, it was already blowing really hard," J.C. Powell, a Simpson County resident, told WLBT.com. "[The tornado] just took everything. It took the pickup bed out of my neighbor's pickup truck and brought it over to my house and that's what knocked my window out on my car... Wasn't nothing I could do."

Possible tornadoes leading to downed and snapped trees, structural damage and blown off roofs were also reported in the counties of Smith, Yazoo, Holmes, Leake and Jasper, Mississippi, through the afternoon and evening.

In Clarke County, located in eastern Mississippi, a reported tornado in Enterprise overturned an 18-wheeler and shut down numerous major roadways. The driver of that 18-wheeler was initially trapped in his vehicle. Emergency Director Eddie Ivy reported that there were no injuries, according to WTOK.com.

Alabama also had extensive damage, including a deadly sweep of strong winds that claimed a life and injured another individual in Marengo County. According to the county's emergency manager, the deadly storm hit shortly after 2 a.m., local time.

The storm-related death isn't being connected to a tornado report at this time, as the NWS is reporting the fatality as being linked to strong wind reports. According to the SPC, the death is in connection to the destruction of two manufactured homes.

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Four barns were also reportedly destroyed in Hale, Alabama, amid strong, straight-line winds.

Tornado watches and warnings were in effect as severe thunderstorms, with high winds, continued moving through eastern Alabama and Georgia, leading to widespread traffic hazards and delays.

In Dunwoody, Georgia, a tree fell on a vehicle traveling on Interstate-285, temporarily shutting down the eastbound lanes. No injuries were reported.

The ongoing severe weather and tornado threat in Alabama and northwestern Georgia prompted widespread school closures. In addition to tornado watches and warnings, widespread flash flood warnings blanket the region through Thursday afternoon.

At 8:43 a.m, local time, the Gordon County Sheriff's Office in Georgia confirmed reports of structural damage in Adairsville, with several trees and wires down.

Farther north and east, flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings cover much of Tennessee while an enhanced risk spreads into South Carolina and Virginia. Meteorologists urge residents to stay alert for the threat of damaging winds and potential tornadoes through the day and into the night.

"Another round of severe weather is expected to impact the Southeast Thursday and Thursday night with cities such as Atlanta, Raleigh and Orlando all within the threat zone," Longley said. "While damaging winds and flooding downpours will be the main threats, a few tornadoes cannot be ruled out."

Keep checking back onAccuWeather.comand stay tuned to theAccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

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Sleepless night in Southeast after deadly severe outbreak rocks the area with tornado reports - msnNOW