Map showing a tornado touching down in Alabama. Image: National Weather Service
A major storm system sweeping across the South on Thursday has killed at least seven people as it unleashed a series of tornadoes on Alabama, where it caused significant damage and left a trail of destruction.
The latest: Butts County Coroner Lacey Prue said a tree fell on a vehicle during a severe storm in Jackson, Georgia, and killed a passenger inside, per AP.
The big picture: The sheriff of Autauga County, Alabama, said Thursday evening the severe weather led to six deaths in the county, WSFA reports. County coroner Buster Barber told CNN authorities were “still searching for bodies.”
- Up to 50 residences in the county were damaged or destroyed as a result of the tornado, per AP.
- This region was in an “Enhanced” risk area for severe weather Thursday, or level 3 out of 5 on the Storm Prediction Center’s risk scale.
By the numbers: Over 25 tornados have been reported, according to the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Storm Prediction Center. More than 30 million people are at risk of thunderstorm winds.
- Debris detected by radars was launched about 20,000 feet into the air.
Of note: The severe weather has led to massive power outages. As of 10.15pm ET, over 58,600 customers in Georgia were without power, nearly others 30,700 in Alabama, 14,700 in Tennessee, almost 13,600 in North Carolina and nearly 11,200 in Tennessee, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency in response to the storms and tornadoes and tweeted that he had “ordered all relevant agencies to respond with an all-hands-on-deck approach to the affected communities.”
State of play: Some of the worst damage occurred in Selma, where a large and violent tornado tore down power lines and trees, flipped over cars and demolished complete buildings, local officials said at a news conference Thursday evening.
- “So far we’ve had no fatalities locally, we’ve had some injuries, but no fatalities,” Selma Mayor James Perkins said.
- Perkins told WFSA that at least one person was believed to have been trapped in a building while possibly one other person was missing.
- The city, a cornerstone of the civil rights movement, was enforcing a curfew Thursday night from dawn to dusk.
Zoom out: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) declared a state of emergency for six counties on Thursday: Autauga, Chambers, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore and Tallapoosa.
- “As severe weather continues impacting the state, I urge all Alabamians in its path to stay weather aware and to be safe,” Ivey tweeted, adding that the state will continue monitoring to “determine if an expanded state of emergency is needed.”
- “I am sad to have learned that six Alabamians were lost to the storms that ravaged across our state,” Ivey said in a separate tweet later Thursday night. “My prayers are with their loved ones and communities. We are far too familiar with devastating weather, but our people are resilient.”
- The NWS has issued a tornado watch for parts of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina until 10pm EST.
- “Thunderstorms moving across AL have a history of producing severe weather, including tornadoes, and will move into western GA through the afternoon and evening hours,” the NWS Storm Prediction Center tweeted.
- A few tornadoes touched down briefly in Georgia on Thursday.
What we’re watching: Severe thunderstorms were set to continue across portions of the Tennessee Valley and the Southeast into the evening, according to the NWS.
- “A couple of damaging tornadoes, along with damaging wind gusts, remain likely, along with hail,” the NWS Storm Prediction Center said in a forecast.
- Tornado watches were growing more narrow in size as the storms moved into more stable air.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.
