A nasty Christmastime storm system spawned blizzard conditions in some states and at least 15 reported tornadoes in the South, damaging homes, taking out power lines and dangerously snarling holiday travel in its wake.
Severe weather swept across much of the United States during the Christmas holiday, bringing tornadoes and intense thunderstorms to the Gulf Coast, while dumping heavy snow and freezing rain on much of the Southern Plains.
Eight states were placed under blizzard warnings, as the storms made highways dangerously slick on one of the busiest travel days of the year. ABC News affiliate KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City said the weather was being blamed for a 21-vehicle wreck on Interstate 40.
Tornadoes were reported today from Texas to Alabama, putting this storm system on track to be one of the largest Christmas day tornado outbreak on record. One large tornado was reported in Mobile, Ala., where there are about 19,000 customers without power and 23,429 statewide, according to Alabama Power.
Melinda Martinez/The Daily Town Talk/AP Photo
A house in Tioga, La., is severely damaged... View Full Size
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The storms, which first brought heavy snow and rain to the West Coast before moving east, are being blamed for at least one death in Texas.
Investigators in the Houston area told ABC state KTRK-TV in Houston that a young man was trying to move a downed tree that was blocking the roadway when another one snapped and fell on top of him. He was later pronounced dead at a hopsital.
In the last 50 years, there have been 10 storm systems between Dec. 24 and 26 that spawned at least one EF2 tornado, which produces winds of 113 mph or more, said Chris Vaccaro, a National Weather Service spokesman, told ABC News over email.
The last time a number of tornadoes hit the Gulf Coast area around Christmas Day was in 2009, when 22 tornadoes occurred on Christmas Eve morning.
The deadliest Christmastime tornado outbreak was Dec. 24 to 26, 1982, when 29 tornadoes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi killed three people and injured 32.
The last killer tornado around Christmas, Vaccaro said, was a Christmas Eve EF4 in Tennessee in 1988, which killed one person and injuring 7. EF4 tornadoes can produce winds up to 200 mph.
While some were preparing for a Christmas feast, others were hunkered down.
More than 180 flights nationwide were canceled by midday, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com. More than half were canceled by American Airlines and its regional affiliate, American Eagle.
The storm is expected to hit the Northeast by Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
ABC News' Max Golembo contributed to this report.
Severe weather swept across much of the United States during the Christmas holiday, bringing tornadoes and intense thunderstorms to the Gulf Coast, while dumping heavy snow and freezing rain on much of the Southern Plains.
Eight states were placed under blizzard warnings, as the storms made highways dangerously slick on one of the busiest travel days of the year. ABC News affiliate KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City said the weather was being blamed for a 21-vehicle wreck on Interstate 40.
Tornadoes were reported today from Texas to Alabama, putting this storm system on track to be one of the largest Christmas day tornado outbreak on record. One large tornado was reported in Mobile, Ala., where there are about 19,000 customers without power and 23,429 statewide, according to Alabama Power.
Melinda Martinez/The Daily Town Talk/AP Photo
A house in Tioga, La., is severely damaged... View Full Size
Christmas Storm Threatens Holiday Travel Watch Video
Winter Storm Pounds West Coast, Heads East Watch Video
Winter Weather Causes Holiday Travel Problems Watch Video
The storms, which first brought heavy snow and rain to the West Coast before moving east, are being blamed for at least one death in Texas.
Investigators in the Houston area told ABC state KTRK-TV in Houston that a young man was trying to move a downed tree that was blocking the roadway when another one snapped and fell on top of him. He was later pronounced dead at a hopsital.
In the last 50 years, there have been 10 storm systems between Dec. 24 and 26 that spawned at least one EF2 tornado, which produces winds of 113 mph or more, said Chris Vaccaro, a National Weather Service spokesman, told ABC News over email.
The last time a number of tornadoes hit the Gulf Coast area around Christmas Day was in 2009, when 22 tornadoes occurred on Christmas Eve morning.
The deadliest Christmastime tornado outbreak was Dec. 24 to 26, 1982, when 29 tornadoes in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi killed three people and injured 32.
The last killer tornado around Christmas, Vaccaro said, was a Christmas Eve EF4 in Tennessee in 1988, which killed one person and injuring 7. EF4 tornadoes can produce winds up to 200 mph.
While some were preparing for a Christmas feast, others were hunkered down.
More than 180 flights nationwide were canceled by midday, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com. More than half were canceled by American Airlines and its regional affiliate, American Eagle.
The storm is expected to hit the Northeast by Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
ABC News' Max Golembo contributed to this report.