storm Kenner LA
© Nesaih TerrebonneDark clouds roll across the sky on Feb. 23, 2016, in Kenner, La.
At least three people were killed Tuesday night in as strong storms blasted through the southern U.S.

One death was reported in Lamar County, Miss., according to the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson.

Lamar County Coroner Cody Creel confirmed one fatality in Lamar County as a result of the storms that passed through.

Two more deaths were were reported in southern Louisiana after a tornado hit an RV park in Convent, according to Fox 8 New Orleans.

Several RVs were overturned and emergency workers were trying to reach victims, the news organization reported.

Word of the deaths came amid at least 15 reports of tornadoes in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that were recorded by the Storm Prediction Center as of 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Both Alabama and Mississippi were under states of emergency Tuesday due to severe weather, AccuWeather reported.

The first reports of severe weather Tuesday were in Louisiana, where residents reported funnel clouds and officials issued tornado warnings near the New Orleans airport and in nearby St. Charles Parish around noon local time, according to WWL-TV.


Posts on social media described "debris flying through the air" and damage near Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Waterspouts were seen over Lake Pontchartrain. Damage was reported after a possible tornado roared through Prairieville, La., southeast of Baton Rouge.


Schools in the metro New Orleans area scrambled to notify parents of early dismissals, with most closing between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Many schools and colleges closed in the Hattiesburg, Miss., area, and high school sporting events were postponed due to the predicted severe weather.

The National Weather Service estimates that more than 7 million people in the South are at enhanced risk for severe weather through Tuesday evening.


The weather service issued a tornado watch, meaning conditions are favorable for twisters to develop, for most of eastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi and southern Alabama. Thunderstorms were forecast from Texas to Florida, with the worst storms likely near the Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Alabama.

The Storm Prediction Center placed much of southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi and southern Alabama in a "moderate risk" area, the second-highest level on the center's five-tiered risk scale.