Tornado warning today – live: Warnings issued in Mississippi and Alabama as storm threatens millions in South

The National Weather Service provided more details about this morning’s tornado warning that was issued across three states, including Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

Cities included in the tornado warning in Alabama, which is valid until 5.45am CT, were Prichard, Chickasaw, Stapleton, Mobile, and Spanish Fort.

Heavy thunderstorms rolled overnight from eastern Texas to Georgia and as far north as Indiana as new tornado watch has been issued for parts of Alabama, Florida and Georgia this morning.

More than a dozen Alabama counties were under a tornado watch this morning with many areas. The watch is set to last until 11am CT.

Large cities including New Orleans, Atlanta, Montgomery and Mobile are in the area at risk on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service confirmed that tornados hit the ground in Mississippi yesterday evening and Alabama was in the forecast path of the storms during the overnight hours.

A tornado has damaged at least 30 houses and knocked out power in part of Hale County, Alabama tonight, according to local media reports.

Rural communities in Akron and Stewart area were hit by a tornado that crossed the Warrior River after causing damages in Eutaw.

Several trees and fallen and power lines have been damaged as hundreds of houses remained without electricity.

Threats from the storms were expected to persist through early Wednesday morning. On Wednesday, the storm system is forecast to move east.

At least 17 tornadoes have touched down across Mississippi and Louisiana before midnight, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration amid a “particularly dangerous” weather situation in the southern states.

Tornadoes were reported from Bassfield, Bywy, Steens and several other areas in Mississippi downing trees and damaging houses.

Meanwhile in Louisiana, at least two people were injured inside their homes during the storm (see post below).

Dozens of tornado watches have been issued in the southern states with power flashes, thunderstorms and hailstorms reported in several areas disrupting daily life.

Forecasters declared the storm system a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” — the highest level of a tornado watch.

Images from Caldwell Parish in Louisiana show the aftermath of a tornado which injured two people, according to local media outlets.

Photos shared by KNOE8 reporter Tyler Englander show a broken house with heavy damages inside after a storm hit the town late at night.

Another image showed a dog waiting for his owners to return home after they were taken to a hospital.

Videos on social media showed intense lightning in the area during the storm.

No other damages or loss of life has been reported so far in the area as southern states continue to live under a severe weather outbreak tonight.

Schools and universities in Mississippi have asked students to stay home as the weather worsens amid heavy thunderstorms, snowfall and rains.

Some of Mississippi’s public school systems closed early while Mississippi State University’s main campus in Starkville switched to remote instruction.

The weather has caused disturbances to traffic as well in some parts of the Upper Midwest as flood watches were issued for parts of southeast Mississippi and southwest Alabama, where 3 to 5 inches of rain could lead to flash flooding, the National Weather Service said.

A Mississippi State women’s basketball game against the University of Louisiana-Monroe was to be played on campus, but the venue was closed to spectators. Alcorn State University and the University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg were closing early.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport tweeted this afternoon that its runways were closed due to fast snowfall rates and reduced visibility.

Air traffic websites showed some inbound planes circling or diverting to other airports such as St Cloud, Minnesota, and Fargo, North Dakota.

The National Weather Service reported nearly 4 inches of snow on the ground at the airport by noon.

The National Weather Service received reports of people trapped at a grocery store in Caledonia, Mississippi, amid the storms and flooding.

The report was received just after 6pm, Lowndes County Emergency Management Agency Director Cindy Lawrence told WTVA-TV.

The people inside the grocery store made it out safely, she added.

Ms Lawrence also said a family trapped in a house about a kilometre from the store escaped.

Additional reports of property damage near Columbus were received by the NWS, according to Lance Perrilloux, a forecaster with the agency.

Heavy rain and hail as big as tennis balls were also possible as forecasters said the bad weather was expected to continue into Wednesday.

Residents in several towns across Louisiana and Mississippi took cover as tornado sirens blared late at night yesterday.

The National Weather Service has confirmed that tornadoes hit the ground in Mississippi yesterday evening and Alabama was in the forecast path of the storms during the overnight hours.

There were no immediate reports of severe damage or injuries as multiple tornado warnings were issued starting Tuesday afternoon and continuing into the nighttime hours as heavy thunderstorms rolled from eastern Texas to Georgia and as far north as Indiana.

The national Storm Prediction Center said in its storm outlook that affected cities could include New Orleans; Memphis and Nashville in Tennessee; and Birmingham, Alabama. More than 25 million people were at risk as the vast storm system.

A derecho is a wind storm that is long-lived, severe and takes place across a wide area.

Derecho-producing storm systems can also contain tornadoes, but they consist mostly of (and are defined by) damaging non-tornadic wind, according to the National Weather Service.

“Sometimes, an intense derecho can result in hundreds of severe wind and damage reports spread along a swath covering multiple states, with deaths, injuries, and many millions of dollars in losses,” the federal agency says.

In August 2020, a powerful derecho struck the Midwest and caused more than $11billion in damages across eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana.

Winds reached 126mph (203 km/h) in Iowa and sustained winds held at around 70mph through the affected area.

There were blackouts across the region including in Cedar Rapids, Iowa which was left without power for weeks in some parts. There was also severe damage to crop staples like corn and soybeans in the agricultural stronghold.

The wording may also accompany Severe Thunderstorm Watches for widespread significant severe events, usually produced by exceptionally intense derechos.

PDS watches are issued, when in the opinion of the forecaster, the likelihood of significant events is boosted by very volatile atmospheric conditions.