Southern storms survivors thankful to see Christmas

At least 14 people were killed in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas as storms and tornadoes hit the South and Midwest late Wednesday.

The state’s emergency management director, Gary Rogers, told CNN affiliate WZTV-TV that two other people are missing.

With about 100 million Americans expected to travel over the Christmas holiday, a lot of them by auto, the National Weather Service forecast isolated severe thunderstorms from the mid-Atlantic region to the Gulf Coast and record warmth in NY.

The overall storm death toll is now at least 10 people who were killed in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas.

“I had my grandson in my arm, under my arm”. “I may have lost some stuff, but I got my life”.

Rusty Russell, a friend of Remus’, said Remus died protecting her sister, and shielded the child as the tree crashed down. Clarksdale Mayor Bill Luckett said the only confirmed casualty was a dog killed by storm debris.

Unusually warm weather spawned massive tornadoes from Arkansas to Michigan, CBS News reported, and states of emergency were declared in Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee as the damage continued through Thursday.

Goodwin’s neighbors weren’t so fortunate.

Meteorologists have confirmed that at least one other Tennessee tornado touched down Wednesday night in Perry County, where husband and wife Antonio Gomez Yazaguirre, 70, Ann Yazaguirre, 69, died when their home was destroyed. The weather service says more than 9 inches of rain fell overnight in Coffee County.

“Many of them were burned beyond recognition, and I doubt if many family members of the dead victims would be able to identify the remains of their loved ones”, said Peter. Up to 15 homes were damaged in McNairy County, the state emergency management office said. High winds and heavy rain had caused a large tree to uproot and fall onto a house.

In Maury County, a 19-year-old woman and two 22-year-old men died in the storms. They carried some of the couple’s belongings past a Santa Claus figure on a table.

In Benton County, Mississippi, relatives helped Daisy and Charles Johnson clean up after the storm flattened their house.

“This right here is a mess, but I can’t complain because we’re blessed”, he said. It was yellow and it was roaring, lightning just continually, and it was making a awful noise.

Rusty Russell, 34, a friend of Remus’, told NBC News that “she is one of those people that you would never hear a bad word about her. Just a true joy to be around”. She abandoned her vehicle, ran to a house and banged on a window, seeking shelter.

The South normally witness peak tornado season in the spring, but experts said that such storms can happen at any time.

A year ago, twisters hit southeast MS, killing five people and injuring dozens of others.