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2 dead, thousands of flights delayed as tornadoes, storms slam Southeast

At least two people were dead and several wounded after tornadoes slammed through parts of Texas and the Southeast as severe weather gripped much of the nation, delaying or canceling thousands of weekend flights and leaving hundreds of thousands without power Sunday.

"Severe thunderstorms and embedded heavy rainfall will affect most of the eastern states," the National Weather Service warned. "Meanwhile, an atmospheric river continues for the west with heavy precipitation, strong winds and dangerous high surf conditions."

The same weather system that produced heavy storms and a swarm of tornadoes in the south-central U.S. will target the Northeast into Monday, AccuWeather said, adding that enough rain, wind and fog will descend on the region to impede travel ahead of the New Year's holiday.

That weather system was blamed for one death and four injuries Saturday in Brazoria County, Texas, about 45 miles south of Houston, according to the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office. In Katy Texas, 30 miles west of Houston, social media posts appear to show a funnel cloud and numerous damaged homes.

North Katy resident Toby Azemohor told click2kouston.com he heard a racket outside his home and went to check on his car.

“I was sleeping,” Azemohor said. “All of a sudden, I was hearing the rain and ... when I came out, it was flipped over.”

Another fatality was reported in Natchez, Mississippi, after a tree fell on a home. The National Weather Service said at least 19 tornadoes were reported in Mississippi alone.

More than three dozen tornadoes and were reported from Texas to Georgia on Friday and Saturday, and the unsettled weather could continue, AccuWeather warned. Power remained out to almost 200,000 homes and businesses Sunday afternoon in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida.

Almost 15,000 flights in the U.S. were delayed or canceled Saturday and Sunday, according to the tracking site FlightAware. Most of the flight delays were in and out of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

In a wide swath of the Southeast and East, warm and humid conditions could help fuel more severe weather, AccuWeather said. New York reached 61 degrees Sunday, Philadelphia saw 63 degrees and Washington, D.C., was approaching 65 degrees.

In the West, the Weather Prediction Center warned that an "atmospheric river (will) produce heavy rain/snow across much of the Northwest today."

Wind gusts of up to 150 mph in the high elevations of the Tahoe Basin in California and 50 mph at lower elevations hit the area this weekend. Heavy rainfall was forecast from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon, forecasters said. Up to 6 inches of rain could fall before New Year's Eve and up to 3 feet of snow in Lake Tahoe, forecasters said.

“Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines,” the Weather Service warned. “Widespread power outages are possible.”

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