Three people were killed and dozens were injured Thursday evening when a tornado swept through Perryton, Texas.
The tiny town near the Oklahoma border, home to around 8,000 people, took the brunt of an intense storm that left some 247,000 people in Texas and Oklahoma and around 140,000 in Louisiana without power on Friday morning, according to BBC. At least 30 Perryton trailer homes were destroyed by a “direct hit” from at least one tornado, and 75 people were taken to a local area hospital.
The tornado reportedly touched down around 5:00 p.m. local time, with multiple people sharing videos purporting to show the twister approaching Perryton. Footage of the aftermath of the tornado destruction shows widespread damage and devastation throughout the area.
Perryton, #Texas #tornado damage. Video by Jaxon Lehnert pic.twitter.com/pJ1DueVm3d
— Kaitlin Wright (@wxkaitlin) June 16, 2023
Storms are expected to continue through Friday, striking across Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Mississippi, Arkansas and west Florida, impacting some 50 million people, according to CNN. Along with tornadoes, forecasts also predict large hail and damaging wind, BBC noted. The system is then expected to center over the Southern Plains, before calming on Sunday.
Tornado moving thru Perryton, TX today and the damage and aftermath. Folks in Perryton are gonna need some help over the next few weeks/months. #txwx #tornado #perryton pic.twitter.com/a8DJTjIlcH
— Brian Emfinger (@brianemfinger) June 16, 2023
Some 33 million people in Texas, Florida and Louisiana are currently under heat advisories, with more extreme weather forecast throughout the rest of the year. Cities such as Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Baltimore could also see large hail and damaging winds into the weekend, CNN reported. (RELATED: Don’t Expect Much Reprieve From Wildfire Smoke Yet, America)
“A tornado formed, and it just dropped on us. It came out of nowhere. There were no sirens, no time to get to a shelter,” Perryton resident Jamie James told the outlet. “There was a time I thought I was going to die. Everything went crazy. Dumpsters were flying, hailstones hitting the car.”
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a state of emergency on Thursday due to the overwhelming damage from tornadoes.