Tornado warnings for Alabama and Mississippi continued through the early hours of Wednesday amid reports of tornadoes in the region overnight that appeared to leave a trail of destruction.
Residents of parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were forced to take shelter Tuesday night as tornado sirens sounded amid a storm system that threatened to put millions of people in danger.
Tornado warnings were issued Tuesday afternoon and continued overnight as severe thunderstorms moved from eastern Texas to Georgia, reaching as far north as Indiana.
The National Weather Service confirmed tornadoes had touched down in Mississippi on Tuesday, while tornadoes were also confirmed by radar in Alabama, NWS Birmingham said.
In video shared on Twitter by meteorologist Craig Ceecee, residents could be seen sitting inside a tornado shelter in Starkville, Mississippi on Tuesday night.
“The fact that there were SO many tornadoes in this area today makes me grateful that all is well here. Thinking about what could have been,” Ceecee said in a Tweeter.
A number of areas reported damage to homes and neighborhoods, while the Caldwell Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana confirmed at least two people were injured due to extreme weather. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear. The sheriff’s office said trees were also downed, while some homes in the area were damaged.
Videos and photos shared on social media appeared to show some of the destruction, with buildings appearing badly damaged, while a video from Muscle Shoals, Alabama showed a number of objects, including a chair, falling apart. flying in a storm.
In an update shared Wednesday just before 2 a.m. ET, the National Weather Service warned that thunderstorms “capable of producing scattered damaging winds and a tornado or two” would be possible in parts of the southeast in the morning.
A line of strong to severe thunderstorms is expected to move rapidly southeast across southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and central/southern Georgia through noon Wednesday, he said.
Forecasters had previously warned that heavy rain and tennis-ball sized hail were possible in the severe weather which is expected to continue through Wednesday.
Meanwhile, heavy snowfall impacted traffic in parts of the Upper Midwest on Tuesday evening.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport tweeted Tuesday afternoon that its runways had been closed due to rapid snowfall and reduced visibility.
At least 378 flights within, to or from the United States were delayed early Wednesday morning, while at least 92 flights were canceled, according to online flight tracker FlightAware. It was not immediately clear whether these cancellations were weather-related.
Associated press contributed.
