Thousands without power after storms rake US south
More than 90,000 households have been left without power after strong winds and suspected tornadoes swept across parts of the southern US on Wednesday.
Witnesses reported at least two tornadoes in Abbeville and Eufaula, Alabama. Storm warnings remain in place for swathes of that state and Georgia.
Forecasters say the Florida Panhandle, Oklahoma, northern Texas and southern Kansas may still see severe storms.
Daily hailstorms have plagued the southern US since Saturday.
By Thursday, more than 90,000 people were without power in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia, according to Poweroutage.us. Of that total, nearly 32,000 were in Alabama.
The mayor of Eufaula, Alabama, told local media a tornado carved a nearly four-mile path through town, tearing down at least one building and toppling 40 trees.
No injuries or deaths have been reported. This was the fourth time a twister hit the small town in as many years, the mayor said.
In neighbouring Georgia, two people narrowly escaped a house that collapsed during storms in the south-west of the state, the town’s sheriff was quoted as saying by local media. Trees and downed power lines were also reported in other parts of the state.
In Texas, vehicles were blown off a highway by strong winds, Sheriff Larry Rowe told local media. There were no immediate reports of injuries. But swathes of the state remain at risk from powerful storms and sweltering heat, according to the National Weather Service.
Meteorologist John Delock said that wind gusts in parts of Alabama had reached 60mph (96 km/h). In Dothan, Alabama, emergency crews rushed to put out a house fire that officials say may have started when lightning struck the chimney, according to local reports. A woman and her three children were home at the time of the fire, but were able to escape to safety.
Much of the south remains under severe storm warnings, according to the NWS, with officials warning of severe thunderstorms, tornados, gale-force winds and flooding.
Another NWS meteorologist, Juan Hernandez, said: “It’s a little late in the year to be getting daily hailstorms across the southern plains, this number of consecutive days.”
On Monday, local forecasters described “supersized” chunks of hail – 5in (13cm) in diameter – that smashed car windshields in Mansfield, Texas.
Meanwhile, on Thursday more than 33 million people in Texas, Florida and Louisiana were under heat advisories, according to the National Weather Service.