Storms moving east leave a trail of damage in the Deep South
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Storms that left splintered homes and broken trees across Alabama and Mississippi moved into Georgia and Florida on Thursday, rousing residents with early-morning warnings as forecasters said the threat of dangerous weather would move up the south Atlantic seaboard.
About 20,000 homes and business were without power, and the weather service said at least two people were hurt when an apparent tornado struck southwest Alabama, destroying a house. But the region appeared to escape the horrific toll many feared after ominous predictions.
“Overall, we have a lot to be grateful for, as it could have been much worse,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement.
The National Weather Service office in central Alabama said teams were fanning out Thursday to assess damage in at least 12 counties where tornadoes may have touched down.
Forecasters issued a string of tornado warnings in the region where Alabama, Georgia and Florida intersect, but there were no immediate reports of major damage. A line of storms stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to West Virginia, and the Storm Prediction Center said isolated severe storms were possible from southern Ohio into the central Appalachians.
The metro Atlanta area was pelted by heavy rain, with intense lightning and strong wind gusts up to 50 mph. Morehouse College delayed the opening of its campus until 11 a.m.; all classes before then were held virtually.
In South Carolina, the state Senate president cautioned senators to stay home Thursday and urged staff to work remotely. House Speaker Jay Lucas said that chamber would meet for less than an hour to take up routine motions in advance of a budget debate next week — then adjourn.
Nearly all of South Carolina is under moderate risk of severe storms. A number of the state’s school systems called off in-person classes Thursday to go online.
On Wednesday, possible tornadoes in Alabama knocked down trees, toppled power lines and damaged homes. Some of the worst problems were in rural Clarke County, where authorities said two people were hurt when a home was destroyed and several others damaged.
In north Alabama, hit by as much as 6 inches of rain, a woman found clinging to a tree after her car was swamped by floodwaters was treated at a hospital. Schools closed in neighboring Madison County.
Roofs were yanked off homes in Moundville, south of Tuscaloosa. Additional damage was reported in Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi, where video showed an apparent tornado at Brookhaven. High winds blew down signs and trees in northeast Texas, and baseballsized hailstones were reported near the Alabama-Mississippi line, the weather service said.
More than 70,000 homes and businesses were without power at one point from Texas to Alabama, which was under a state of emergency, and communities used social media to share tornado shelter locations.