Storms hit the South with more on the way

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A wave of storms hit the Deep South on Wednesday, leaving a trail of shattered trees and damaged buildings, and forecasters said even stronger ones are on the way with the potential for huge tornadoes, torrential rain and ball-sized hail. baseball

While nearly 16 million people in the southeast could see severe storms, said the Storm Prediction Center, a region of about 3 million that stretches from southeastern Arkansas and northeast Louisiana through Mississippi to Alabama is at high risk from big twisters who they remain on the ground for kilometers, direct winds of up to 129 km / h and destructive hail.

LIVE RADAR: Storms hit parts of the South; system rolls towards Georgia

Possible tornadoes fell trees, cut power lines and damaged homes in rural Chilton County and in the communities of Burnsville and Moundville, Alabama, where power was cut off and trees blocked a major highway.

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“Downtown Moundville got it. Some roofs and other things were removed from the houses, “said Michael Brown, whose family owns Moundville Ace Hardware. And Building.” There are many trees felled. I think it must have been a tornado; got out of here very fast. “

Additional damage has been reported in Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi, where the video showed an apparent tornado in Brookhaven. Strong winds knocked down plaques and trees in northeastern Texas, and hailstones the size of baseballs have been reported near the Alabama-Mississippi line, the weather service said.

More than 70,000 homes and businesses were left without power from Texas to Alabama, and the radar showed other storms moving through the region when initial cleaning work began.

Storms are possible from northern Texas, in the west to northern Illinois, and in the far east to the Carolinas, meteorologists said, and the weather service issued more than 50 tornado warnings in Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma. Tornado watches included pieces from seven states.

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Dozens of school systems in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi canceled classes, switched to online learning or dismissed students earlier, and Mississippi State University switched to virtual education due to the potential for danger on its campuses in Starkville and Meridian.

Major vaccination clinics, where hundreds of people an hour can get vaccines without leaving their vehicles, have been canceled in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. In Mississippi’s capital, Jackson, civil servants have been told to head for the stairs if they hear the weather sirens. Near Birmingham, job organizers canceled an outdoor event at an Amazon facility where workers are voting for union representation.

At least two storm waves are likely, meteorologists said, and the worst may not arrive until a cold front passes through the night.

“The biggest question is how strong and severe these storms will be and whether they will become immediate,” said Gary Goggins, an analyst in the Birmingham National Weather Service’s office.

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Governor Kay Ivey put Alabama in a state of emergency, and communities across the south used social media to share the location of tornado shelters. Dozens of people gathered in a gymnasium that opened as a shelter in Tuscaloosa, where more than 50 people died in a hurricane during a 10-year-old weather outbreak next month.

In Jackson, Tennessee, officials said a civic center and regional airport would be open to residents seeking shelter.

Elsewhere, the severe climate threat has prompted the president of the South Carolina Senate to warn senators to build the state house on Thursday, while urging the team to work remotely for their safety. House Speaker Jay Lucas said the chamber will meet in less than an hour on Thursday to address routine motions so it can debate a budget next week – and then postpone it.

“If you are in a situation where it is dangerous to come, I am asking you not to come,” said Lucas. “If you can come, give us a quorum and do those few things that we need to do, we will get out of here in a hurry.”

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Almost all of South Carolina is at moderate risk for severe storms, with forecasters saying there may be some strong tornadoes. The abnormally dire forecast prompted several state school systems to cancel face-to-face classes on Thursday and get students and teachers to meet online.