Severe Storms, Multiple Tornadoes Sweep Alabama
Few areas of State untouched
Deadly storms swept across Alabama on Saturday, leaving a trail of destruction and property damage from west to east.
The severe weather front entered west Alabama on Saturday afternoon, bringing high winds, lightning and tornadoes that felled trees and power lines and destroyed homes and businesses. The first Tornado Watch for Alabama was issued just after noon on Saturday. Numerous other watches and confirmed were posted by the National Weather Service throughout the rest of the day, night and into Sunday morning. Multiple tornadoes were confirmed during the storms’ passing.
The storms were part of a massive severe weather system that had caused more than thirty deaths nationwide as of this writing. Eight people died in a 50-car pileup caused by a dust storm in Kansas. In Mississippi, there were six reported deaths with three people missing. Missouri had twelve fatalities as tornadoes struck across the state.
ABC 33/40 in Birmingham reported a single Alabama fatality in Plantersville on air Saturday night, but this had not been confirmed at press time.
The extent of the damage may take several days to determine. As of 3:44 Am Sunday, Alabama Power’s Outage Map showed 809 outages affecting 26,500 customers.
The weather system had moved out of Alabama and into Georgia by early Sunday morning. The front stretched from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of America on Saturday.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey declared a State of Emergency on Friday afternoon for all 67 Counties in the State. States of Emergency typically last 60 days, but may be rescinded earlier by written proclamation.
This declaration was widely disseminated, helped make people aware of the seriousness of the situation, and contributed to the State’s overall level of preparedness for the storm. The Staff of ALPolitics.com commends the Governor and her Staff for taking this action to protect the people of Alabama.
