Tornado Hits Birmingham, Alabama, as Severe Southern Weather Continues

Elsewhere in the region Saturday, flooding from recent heavy rain was expected in Alabama, and Arkansas’ capital recorded its warmest day ever in December.

The National Weather Service says search and rescue efforts are ongoing in Birmingham, Alabama, where a tornado moved through in the past hour.

Eastbound Interstate 40 is being reopened in eastern New Mexico after an extended closure due to the major storm that pummeled parts of the state. That tornado destroyed several homes and damaged several more.

An official with the Dallas County Sheriff’s office says deputies are responding to damages caused by a tornado east of Dallas, including a trailer park ablaze.

Three homes were also destroyed.

Stephanie Parker is the emergency manager for Ellis County, which is about 30 miles south of Dallas.

Crystal Patterson didn’t have the cash or assets to post $150,000 bail and get out of jail after her arrest for assault in October. He said at least eight people had been killed and numerous roadways had been closed.

The death toll in the USA southern states climbed to 18 after a week of tumultuous weather including tornados and torrential downpours sparked flooding and caused damage that wreaked Christmas holiday havoc. The NWS said that at least nine twisters touched down in the region late Saturday.

Texas and Oklahoma are also readying for a potentially “historic” blizzard that could bring more than a foot of snow through Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Residents in Lubbock and Amarillo prepared for a storm expected to begin Saturday night.

One woman whose home was damaged told NBC affiliate WVTM that she grabbed her son and said “let’s go” as the storm hit.

More than 400 homes in total were affected, he said. Residents were warned to brace for flash flooding and possible tornadoes.

And those storms also brought double-digit rainfall in MS and Alabama, flooding roads and homes. Four inches of rain walloped the city of Mobile, Alabama, on Wednesday – smashing the previous record of 2.2ins set in 1990.

The Columbia Police Department said in a news release that the bodies of three people were found in a vehicle submerged in a Maury County creek Thursday afternoon.

At least 14 people are dead and dozens of families are facing a homeless Christmas.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced Saturday that he would visit weather-damaged areas in Coffee County. Among the victims was a 7-year-old boy who perished while riding in a vehicle that was swept up and tossed by storm winds.

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

National Weather Service Meteorologist Anthony Bain in Fort Worth said several tornadoes touched down in the Dallas area, although the full extent of damage would not be known until daylight Sunday. The weather service said that flooding would be experienced in southern Huntsville, Decatur, Madison, Hartselle, Muscle Shoals, Russellville, Sheffield, Tuscumbia, Moulton and Red Bay. A Christmas Tree stands among damage done to a home on Falcon Road in Selmer, Tenn., Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015, after a tornado passed through the area Wednesday evening.

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

City officials said this is only the second time since 1950 that such a powerful tornado struck the area.

Parts of the Southeast will see rain, while severe weather is possible in Mississippi.

Charlie and Linda Baldwin didn’t even know a tornado was bearing down on their neat, green-sided home until their daughter called from nearby Pratt City.

Heavy rain and strong winds, like forecast for parts of Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas on Monday, are often more troubling for airlines than snowfall.