HOUSTON – Officials began assessing damage Sunday after a powerful storm system moved across the southeastern United States over the weekend, killing at least two people as tornadoes touched down in Texas and Mississippi.

The severe weather line resulted in about 40 tornado reports from southeast Texas to Alabama, National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Pereira said, but those reports remain unconfirmed until damage surveys are completed.

“It’s not unusual, but it is quite unusual to have a severe weather outbreak of this magnitude occur this late in the year,” he said. The storms will drift further east until they eventually move away from the coast, meaning the risk of severe weather will decrease through Sunday evening.

In the Houston area, National Weather Service teams planned to conduct investigations Sunday into at least five tornadoes that struck north and south of the city on Saturday. At least one person died.

The 48-year-old woman who was killed was found about 100 feet from her home in the Liverpool area, south of Houston, said Madison Polston of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office. She said the exact cause of death was not immediately known.

Four other people in Brazoria County suffered injuries that were not considered critical, Polston said, adding that at least 40 homes and buildings in the county sustained significant damage.

In Mississippi, one person died in Adams County and two people were injured in Franklin County, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

According to the National Weather Service, two tornadoes struck around Bude and the town of Brandon, ripping roofs off several buildings.

Storm damage was reported in the northern Alabama city of Athens, northwest of Huntsville. A National Weather Service survey team was expected to begin assessing damage Sunday morning, meteorologist Chelly Amin said.

Holly Hollman, spokeswoman for the city of Athens, said she lives about two blocks from downtown, where most of the damage was caused by the storms early Sunday morning.

Hollman said the storm knocked large HVAC units off building roofs, ripped the roof off a bookstore and damaged a brick building next to a veterans museum. A full-size, dismantled military helicopter fell from a pole where it was on display, she added.

“I stepped onto my porch and I could hear it roaring,” she said. “I think we are very lucky that we were hit late at night. If it had hit during rush hour, we probably would have had some injuries and possibly deaths.”

According to utility tracking website PowerOutage.us, nearly 65,000 Mississippi customers were without power as of 9 a.m. Sunday, up from 93,000 at 1 a.m. In Georgia, around 54,000 customers were also without electricity; 36,000 in Alabama; 20,000 in Louisiana; and 13,000 in Texas.

Two roads in western North Carolina – a region largely devastated by Hurricane Helene this fall – were closed late Sunday morning due to severe weather, said Jamie Kritzer, spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

A portion of US 441, also known as the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway, was closed in both directions in Swain County north of Bryson City due to high winds. The reopening should take place on Monday. Another road in Macon County near Franklin — State Road 1672, also known as River Road — was closed Sunday morning due to flooding and was expected to reopen Sunday afternoon.

The storms moved quickly across Georgia, where there were reports of downed trees in the Atlanta area.

Contribute: Corey Williams and Julie Walker