Southeast storm death toll rises to 17

The National Weather Service confirms a tornado touched down in southwest Jefferson County in Alabama at about 5 p.m. Friday, moving northeast toward the city of Birmingham. An hour later, the National Weather Service confirmed that first responders were on the scene along Jefferson Avenue in a working class neighborhood about eight miles from downtown Birmingham.

There were no immediate reports of damage.

Unseasonably warm temperatures across the southeastern US this week spawned severe weather blamed for deaths in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas.

Two deaths attributable to weather were reported today in MS: two people who have been missing since Thursday, bringing that state’s death toll to 10.

Many families in Birmingham were thankful to be alive, including Shavette Hardy who was trapped along with her son in all of the wreckage by way of a unwanted gift from mother nature on Christmas day.

Shavette Hardy and two others families’ homes have been declared a total loss, but they tell WIAT 42 the Red Cross has been a tremendous help to get them back on their feet. Goodwin’s neighbours weren’t so fortunate.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Tornadoes swept through the Dallas area after dark on Saturday evening causing significant damage while a blizzard was blanketing parts of New Mexico and West Texas with snow, the latest in the nation’s freakish winter weather pattern that sent temperatures plunging to near zero wind chill in the western Plains even as numerous record highs are forecast for the eastern U.S. An EF-0 is considered the weakest type of tornado, but still able to do damage to homes and businesses. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said the victims were a 19-year-old female and two 22-year-old males.

A flood warning was also in effect for the Coosa River, swollen by up to 8 inches of rain over the past week, and threatening the city of Gadsden.

Dozens of people were injured in the storms, some seriously, said Greg Flynn, spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

Tennessee and MS also were recovering this weekend after another tornado wreaked havoc over a 100-mile stretch in the two states, decimating at least a dozen homes and buildings.

The National Weather Service says a tornado was on the ground south of Dallas.

Urbina said the extent of the damage was still uncertain but that nearby roads had been shut due to debris and that the damage to the homes was likely extensive enough to render some “inhabitable”.

Meanwhile three of the six casualties in Tennessee were found dead in a vehicle submerged in a creek, the Columbia Police Department noted. An Alabama official said volunteers have worked to distribute sandbags as flooding remained a major concern after severe storms battered the state.

As the rain continued to fall, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley on Friday issued an emergency declaration that covers any part of the state experiencing flash flooding.

Tornadoes typically hit the region the hardest in the spring, but such storms can happen any time of the year.

Barbara Perkins and her husband were hunkered down inside a closet when violent winds peeled the roof off their MS home.

One year ago a tornado hit south-eastern MS, killing five people and injuring dozens more.

“You kind of stop and realize what Christmas is all about”, Perkins said.