Severe weather moves to Carolinas

Tornadoes reported in swath of South

Atlanta — Strong storms plowed through Georgia on their way to the Carolinas Friday, spawning at least one confirmed tornado, after setting off tornadoes that swirled through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

The weather service confirmed a tornado touched down in central Georgia and did some damage Friday morning.

Meteorologist Steve Nelson said a tornado pushed through Twiggs County near Allentown, Ga., with 90-mph winds, traveling 1.9 miles, damaging eight homes and destroying two.

Officials said it was possible that another tornado later in the morning hit neighboring Wilkinson County, causing damage to three homes and trees.

In nearby Warner Robins, streets were flooded and roofs damaged at Robins Air Force Base, and the airfield at Robins was temporarily closed.

Heavy rain in the Mississippi Delta caused some widespread flooding. Sunflower County Emergency Manager Ben Grant said about two dozen homes in Moorhead were evacuated.

More than 12,000 power outages were reported by 4-County Electric Power Association in Mississippi.

In Louisiana, heavy rain created flash-flood conditions.

On Thursday, tornadoes had touched down in Eldridge and Ardmore in Alabama, with no reports of damage or injuries, and in two areas of southeastern Louisiana, bringing down trees and power lines but causing no injuries. Apparent tornadoes in Mississippi damaged at least a dozen homes and downed trees near Columbus and crashed into a house in Lamar County, but no injuries were reported.

A day earlier, at least seven people had been reported injured when severe storms spawned multiple tornado touchdowns in northeastern Oklahoma.