5 killed in Southern storms

Violent storms unleashed floods and tornadoes across Texas and Louisiana on Wednesday and Thursday, leaving at least five people dead.

The threat for rough weather continues Friday, the National Weather Service said. Severe thunderstorms are possible across the Mid-Atlantic region, and strong winds and tornadoes are possible in eastern portions of North Carolina and Virginia.

Two people were killed Thursday in Ruston in north-central Louisiana after a tornado ripped through the town and the Louisiana Tech University campus around 2:30 a.m. local time.

“I’ve never seen it this bad in my 43 years. It’s tragic, and it’s going to be a while before we can get all this cleaned up,” Lincoln Parish Sheriff Mike Stone said.

“We took a direct hit,” Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker said.

Late Thursday afternoon, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency for the entire state.

The National Weather Service said the tornado was rated an EF-3, which means its wind speeds were in the 136 to 165 mph range. Weather service hydrologist C.S. Ross said it cut a track over 130 miles from eastern Texas to the Louisiana-Arkansas border.

The same cluster of thunderstorms produced flooding and severe weather in Texas on Wednesday, the Weather Channel reported.

About 75 miles southwest of Fort Worth, a woman and two children were killed when the family’s car was caught in rushing floodwaters around 6 a.m. in what’s usually a small creek just outside Dublin.

Thursday’s opening of the New Orleans Jazz Fest was delayed because of the storms, and the PGA golf tournament was delayed for several hours because of lightning.