Deadly storms, tornadoes sweep through Southeast
Line of violent weather brings high winds, hail
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – More than 20 possible tornadoes slashed through the Southeast, killing at least two people and damaging homes as a line of intense weather rolled from Texas to Georgia and as far north as Indiana.
The National Weather Service issued more than 70 tornado warnings across a swath of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana on Tuesday and Wednesday as storms slammed the region with heavy rains, high winds and large hail.
In Alabama, a possible early-morning tornado just north of Montgomery killed a 39-year-old woman and her 8year-old son when a tree fell on their mobile home, authorities said. The boy’s father was hospitalized.
In the same community, Caroline Bankston said she and Tim Wiseman were watching the news when they realized a tornado was about to hit them, so they moved to a safer spot as part of the roof fell into their sofa. “Thank God we moved,” Bankston said.
In the Greene County town of Eutaw, the storm forced 15 families from their homes in the middle of the night. In Hale County, a suspected tornado damaged numerous homes. “I have seen some really nice mobile homes tied down, but they just don’t stand a chance,” County Emergency Management Director Weeden told WBRC-TV.
In Louisiana’s rural Caldwell Parish, at least two people were hurt when several homes were damaged by a tornado, Sheriff Clay Bennett said. Tornadoes also were confirmed in Mississippi.