Death toll from USA storms rises to 22

On the other side of Texas, a snowstorm accompanied by plunging temperatures was expected to leave up to 16ins of snow in West Texas and much of New Mexico. She said Texas Department of Transportation crews have been out to clear the roads.

The Red Cross said it was setting up shelters for people whose homes were damaged by the storm.

Three children and their mother were killed in a Southern California mobile home fire on Christmas morning, while the family’s father survived the fast-moving blaze.

The death toll from storms in the southern United States has risen to 18.

The agency says this increases the number of deaths to eight, and the number of missing persons to two.

Meanwhile, the US National Weather Service issued a warning for an “historic blizzard” in Texas, predicting up to 36cm of snow, with sub-zero wind chills and accumulating ice.

Jason Strunk, the football coach at Lubbock High School, said he was checking his home’s pipes and laying out cat litter for traction on his sidewalk and driveway, just as he learned growing up and living in colder climates farther north. Strunk’s major concern was unprepared drivers going out on wet, icy roads.

“We’re just there to salvage what we can salvage”, Howard said. “They really don’t know how to drive in this kind of stuff”.

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”.

He said about 600 structures were damaged, the majority of which were single-family homes.

This comes after two possible tornados on Christmas Day outside Birmingham, Alabama.

At least three people who died were found in vehicles, said Barineau, who also noted that some cars appeared to be thrown from the interstate, though it wasn’t known whether that was the case for the people found in the vehicles. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said Saturday that authorities were monitoring areas for possible flooding.

A tornado touched down in north-central Alabama, including part of Birmingham, in the latest wave of severe weather that’s hammered the South during Christmas week. Gov. Robert Bentley said the flooding led to the closure of 190 roads throughout the state.

The youngest victim there was a seven-year-old boy who was killed in a vehicle with his family. The search is ongoing for a 22-year-old man who was also in the auto.

Inmates from an Alabama correctional facility were evacuated as a precaution to potential flooding caused by the recent heavy rainfall.

The Missouri State Department of Transportation says the closures include eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 in St. Charles County. The service has extended the flood warning for the area until Monday afternoon.

More flooding is expected in parts of northern Alabama, and residents have been warned against driving in certain areas.

Bledsoe, Hamilton, Marion, McMinn and Meigs counties remained under flood warnings Saturday. The storm then intensified near the Birmingham suburb of Lipscomb before a tornado touched down in the neighboring city Midfield.

Peak tornado season in the South is in the spring, but storms can happen any time.

Tornadoes and storms which swept through parts of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas earlier this week left at least 15 people dead.

The unseasonably warm weather that spawned deadly tornadoes on Wednesday killed six people in Tennessee.

He said that they’re still addressing the total amount of damage.

WHAT TO EXPECT TOMORROW: A line of heavy rain and thunderstorms will enter West Alabama (Hamilton, Aliceville, Eutaw, Fayette, &Tuscaloosa) tomorrow morning between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. There is a chance this line may contain some bowing segments or severe storms capable of producing damaging wind gusts.