A major cross-country storm is moving east, bringing thunderstorms to the South from Texas to New Orleans on Mardi Gras Day before heading to the East Coast on Wednesday.

Power outages skyrocketed as damage reports continued to come in Tuesday from several states as severe weather raced across portions of Texas and Oklahoma early in the day, and now the line of tornado-producing storms is charging east through Mississippi and Louisiana,

In Irving, a tornado with winds up to 110 mph struck, while another touched down in the 16,000-resident city of Ada, Oklahoma, according to preliminary information from the National Weather Service. There were also two tornadoes in Louisiana’s northern Caddo Parish and at least five in eastern Oklahoma.

The winter storm could impact up to 170 million people across more than 20 states from the southern Plains to the Midwest and East, AccuWeather said.

Officials rushed to reschedule Mardi Gras celebrations and warned revelers as powerful storms were expected to strike Louisiana.

IRVING, Texas – Deadly severe storms ripped across ... Law enforcement in Gramercy, part of the New Orleans metro area, reported a possible tornado Tuesday evening with structural damage.

A major cross-country storm is moving east, bringing severe thunderstorms to the South on Mardi Gras Day before heading to the East Coast on Wednesday. More than 400,000 customers lost power in Texas on Tuesday morning.

Powerful storms have killed two people in Mississippi, torn the roofs off an apartment building and a nursing home in Oklahoma and threatened communities across the nation. Tuesday's large system

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Powerful storms killed two people in Mississippi, tore the roofs off an apartment building and a nursing home in a small town in Oklahoma and threatened more communities across the nation Tuesday with wide-ranging weather.