Severe storms tore across the Southeast on Saturday morning.
The sun rose over Hattiesburg, MS this morning to reveal extensive damage from a tornado in the early hours of the day. The Forrest County coroner has confirmed four fatalities so far.
At around 4am local time, a severe tornadic storm was tracked on radar across the area.
Initial radar readings suggested airborne debris, and content posted to social media in the following hours confirmed the damage.
A look down Edwards street in downtown Hattiesburg. #mswx pic.twitter.com/zn57klWrPk
— Ryan Moore (@RyanMooreMS) January 21, 2017
It appears that William Carey University took a direct hit from the tornado, after numerous students posted pictures of their damaged dorms.
@_Chel_SEE one of the dorms at William Carey ? pic.twitter.com/VKXNyO7kOm
— ♛ (@_Chel_SEE) January 21, 2017
Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, with significant numbers of downed trees and power lines on houses and cars.
4 fatalities have been have been confirmed after a tornado swept through Hattiesburg. The community here is absolutely devastated. More at 8 pic.twitter.com/tDmAd5lXiR
— Victor Williams (@VictorWLOX) January 21, 2017
Preliminary storm reports highlight the tornado, along with scattered reports of damaging wind and large hail across the region.
Morecast will continue to update this story as more details emerge.