At least two people were killed and two others were injured when a severe storm destroyed homes and toppled trees in the Florida Panhandle early on Thursday morning, officials said.
Kristy Kolmetz, the public information officer for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in northwestern Florida, said a tornado touched down in the county sometime between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. Ms. Kolmetz did not provide additional information about the deaths and injuries.
The National Weather Service has not confirmed that a tornado touched down in the county.
“In that area there was total destruction of homes, and there were several downed power lines and downed debris on the roadways,” Ms. Kolmetz said.
The Washington County School District closed on Thursday because of the threat of severe weather.
The high winds and heavy rains in Florida were part of a line of thunderstorms that traveled across the south overnight and into Thursday.
The storms moved east from Mississippi, Alabama and northwestern Arkansas, where at least seven people were injured, two critically, when a tornado touched down on Wednesday.
Mayor Doug Sprouse of Springdale, Ark., the town where the seven people were injured, declared an emergency there on Wednesday. “Many residents have been displaced from their homes and numerous businesses have reported significant damages,” Mr. Sprouse said in a statement.
Part of the Florida Panhandle, including Tallahassee, and southern Georgia were under a tornado watch Thursday morning that was in effect into the afternoon. The Weather Service said that scattered severe thunderstorms would move east through the afternoon and that wind gusts could exceed 60 miles per hour.
The Weather Service advised people in the affected areas to secure loose items and warned that there could be power outages and downed trees.
Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster for the National Weather Service, said that, on Thursday, “there is a chance for severe weather from the Florida Panhandle across pretty much the entire East Coast.”
More than 19,000 customers in Mississippi, 20,000 in Alabama and 22,000 in Tennessee had lost power as of 10 a.m. on Thursday, according to PowerOutage.US, a website that aggregates data from utilities.
