Alabama tornado adds to Christmas weather woes

Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

A Christmastime wave of severe weather continued Friday as a tornado touched down in Jefferson County, Ala., including through the southwest portion of Birmingham, the state’s largest city.

Witnesses spotted the funnel outside the city about 5 p.m. An hour later, the National Weather Service confirmed that first-responders were on the scene along Jefferson Avenue in a working-class neighborhood about 8 miles from downtown Birmingham.

Lt. Sean Edwards, a Birmingham police spokesman, said trees are down and people were trapped inside damaged houses but there were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.

Weather radar Friday evening showed an intense system along the Interstate 20/59 corridor west of Birmingham, with the storm moving eastward. Flooding was reported in counties throughout the region, as heavy rain continued to fall.

The Alabama tornado is the latest development in an ongoing series of storms that has hammered the South during Christmas week.

Elsewhere in the region, where the weather had calmed, dozens of people faced Christmas having lost their homes and possessions. But many said they were thankful to see another Christmas.

Unseasonably warm weather Wednesday helped spawn torrential rain and deadly tornadoes that left at least 14 people and left dozens of families homeless by Christmas Eve.

On Friday, parts of Mississippi remained under a flood warning. Weather forecasters from the National Weather Service warned that a strong storm crossing the central part of the state could produce hail and winds of more than 40 mph. The storm was bringing with it the risk of falling trees, downed power lines and flash flooding, officials said.

More severe weather also was in store for parts of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee that were again being pounded with rain. Residents were warned to brace for flash flooding and possible tornadoes.

Among the dead were seven people from Mississippi, including a 7-year-old boy who perished while riding in a car that was swept up and tossed by storm winds.

Six people were killed in Tennessee, including three who were found in a car submerged in a creek, according to the Columbia Police Department. One person died in Arkansas, and dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed.