Storms that spawned deadly winds have dumped more than 2 inches of rain across much of north Alabama, causing floods after months of drought.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for much of north Alabama on Wednesday while storms were still dousing the region with heavy rains.

Police in the northwest Alabama city of Florence put out barriers to block roads that flooded with as much as 2 feet of water when fallen leaves clogged blocked drainage during torrential downpours. The weather service says streams were cresting in western Alabama after as much as 4 inches of rain.

The entire state is locked in a severe drought and some areas haven't had measurable rain for more than two months before the storms moved through.

The state climatologist, John Christy, says more than 1 inch of rain is needed weekly to end the drought.

Five people were killed in Alabama and Tennessee as the line of storms moved across the South, spawning suspected tornadoes.

The death toll from severe storms that moved across the South overnight has risen to five.

An official in Tennessee says two people have been killed and at least nine others injured in severe weather that hit the state overnight.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Dean Flener says a husband and wife died and two others were injured in Polk County. He said at least seven injuries were reported in nearby McMinn County. He didn't have further details on what happened.

Flener says suspected tornadic activity was reported in six counties, all in the southeastern corner of Tennessee.

Across the state line, three people were killed in northeastern Alabama when a suspected tornado hit a mobile home in Jackson County.

Authorities say three people have been killed as a line of storms and possible tornadoes moved across northern Alabama overnight.

Jackson County Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen tells The Associated Press the three killed were all in a mobile home in Rosalie in northeast Alabama. Another person in the home was critically injured.

Harnen also said early Wednesday that there have been a number of other injuries and estimated that 16 to 20 structures in Jackson County have been destroyed. </s> ROSALIE, Ala. (AP) — A suspected tornado killed three people in Alabama as a line of severe storms moved across the South overnight, authorities said.

The three who died were all in a mobile home in the northeastern Alabama community of Rosalie, Jackson County Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen told The Associated Press early Wednesday. Another person in the home was critically injured, Harnen said.

Harnen also said there were a number of other injuries and estimated that 16 to 20 structures in the county have been destroyed.

Possible tornadoes were reported across several counties in northern Alabama and southern Tennessee, National Weather Service meteorologist Lauren Nash said.

Tornadoes and hail were also reported Tuesday in Louisiana and Mississippi. In Mississippi, the National Weather Service in Jackson said late Tuesday that it had counted six confirmed tornadoes so far in the areas of the state it monitors. </s> ROSALIE, Ala. — A suspected tornado killed three people in Alabama as a line of severe storms moved across the South overnight, authorities said.

The three who died were all in a mobile home in the northeastern Alabama community of Rosalie, Jackson County Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen told The Associated Press early Wednesday. Another person in the home was critically injured, Harnen said.

Harnen also said there were a number of other injuries and estimated that 16 to 20 structures in the county have been destroyed. He could not give an exact number of injuries. The suspected tornado affected an area of homes and businesses that covered nearly half a mile, Harnen said.

Harnen also said authorities were searching door to door before dawn Wednesday for any other damage.

Possible tornadoes were reported across several counties in northern Alabama and southern Tennessee, National Weather Service meteorologist Lauren Nash said.

Tornadoes and hail were also reported Tuesday in Louisiana and Mississippi. In Mississippi, the National Weather Service in Jackson said late Tuesday that it had counted six confirmed tornadoes so far in the areas of the state it monitors. </s> A sheriff confirmed at least 14 people were killed by a possible tornado in Alabama on Sunday as severe storms destroyed mobile homes, snapped trees and left a trial of destruction and weather warnings extending into Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.

Dozens of emergency responders rushed in to assist in Lee County, Alabama, after what appeared to be a large tornado struck Sunday afternoon as part of a powerful storm system raking the Southeast.

"I can say that at this time we have 14 confirmed fatalities," Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told WRBL-TV. "And again the search continues. We still have some people that are reported missing."

Authorities warned that the death toll could rise further as search efforts continued in the small community of Beauregard and surrounding areas. Jones said the storm's path of destruction stretched for miles (kilometers) through his rural county, and in places was about a fourth of a mile (0.4 kilometers) wide. He didn't have an immediate account of how many were believed missing.

Several people in Lee County were taken to hospitals, "some of them with very serious injuries," Jones said.

Rita Smith, spokeswoman for the Lee County Emergency Management Agency, said about 150 first responders were assisting in the storm's aftermath.

Multiple homes were destroyed or damaged in Beauregard, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) east of Montgomery, Smith said.

"We've still got people being pulled out of rubble," Lee County Coroner Bill Harris told Al.com on Sunday evening. "We're going to be here all night."

The sheriff and coroner did not immediately return phone messages from The Associated Press.

No deaths had been reported Sunday evening from storm-damaged Alabama counties outside Lee County, said Gregory Robinson, spokesman for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. But he said crews were still surveying damage in several counties in the southwestern part of the state.

Radar and video evidence showed what looked like a large tornado crossing the area near Beauregard shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday, said meteorologist Meredith Wyatt with the Birmingham, Alabama, office of the National Weather Service.

Numerous tornado warnings were posted across parts of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina on Sunday afternoon as the powerful storm system raced across the region.

In rural Talbotton, Georgia, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Atlanta, a handful of people were injured by either powerful straight-line winds or a tornado that destroyed several mobile homes and damaged other buildings, said Leigh Ann Erenheim, director of the Talbot County Emergency Management Agency.

Televised broadcast news footage showed smashed buildings with rooftops blown away, cars overturned and debris everywhere. Trees all around had been snapped bare of branches.

"The last check I had was between six and eight injuries," Ereheim said in a phone interview. "From what I understand it was minor injuries, though one fellow did say his leg might be broken."

She said searches of damaged homes and structures had turned up no serious injuries or deaths.

Henry Wilson of the Peach County Emergency Management Agency near Macon in central Georgia said a barn had been destroyed and trees and power poles had been snapped, leaving many in the area without power.

Authorities said a tornado was confirmed by radar in the Florida Panhandle late Sunday afternoon.

A portion of Interstate 10 on the Florida Panhandle was blocked in one direction for a time in Walton County in the aftermath, said Don Harrigan, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.

"There's a squall line moving through the area," Harrigan told AP. "And when you have a mature line of storms moving into an area where low level winds are very strong, you tend to have tornadoes developing. It's a favorable environment for tornados."

The threat of severe weather was expected to continue into Sunday evening. A tornado watch was in effect for much of eastern Georgia, including Athens, Augusta and Savannah. The tornado watch also covered a large area of South Carolina, including the cities of Charleston and Columbia. </s> The suspected tornado hit in the small community of Rosalie, Jackson County Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen said. Another person in the mobile home where the three died was critically injured, Harnen said.

Officials in nearby DeKalb County said the same possible tornado hit a closed day care center in the Ider community, injuring seven people, including three children.

“Those that were injured at the day care center had left their mobile home to seek shelter in the building,” said Anthony Clifton, DeKalb County Emergency Management Director.

Clifton said 50 to 60 homes in the county had been damaged with about half of them destroyed.

Harnen said there were a number of other injuries and estimated that 16 to 20 structures in Jackson County have been destroyed. He could not give an exact number of injuries.

Harnen and Clifton said authorities were searching door to door before dawn Wednesday for any other damage and injuries.

Possible tornadoes were reported across several counties in northern Alabama and southern Tennessee, National Weather Service meteorologist Lauren Nash said.

Tornadoes and hail were also reported Tuesday in Louisiana and Mississippi. In Mississippi, the National Weather Service in Jackson said late Tuesday that it had counted six confirmed tornadoes so far in the areas of the state it monitors.

The Storm Forecast Center in Norman, Oklahoma, issued a tornado watch from southeast Louisiana to northwest Georgia as a line of severe storm moved southeast Wednesday morning.

National Weather Service offices in Louisiana and Alabama planned to send personnel out Wednesday to check on possible tornados that occurred late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. </s> Image above shows storm damage to Alabama home from Nov. 29, 2016. Courtesy AP.

JACKSON, Miss. - Emergency officials say four people were killed in southern Alabama when severe storms ripped through the area.

 

Kris Ware, a spokeswoman for the Dothan Houston County Emergency Management Agency, said four people were killed in Rehobeth and structures were damaged in the area.

 

Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement on social media that the sheriff confirmed the storm-related deaths to him.

 

The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for Houston County on Monday evening. </s> ROSALIE, Ala. — The death toll from severe storms that moved across the South Tuesday night has risen to five.

An official in Tennessee says two people have been killed and at least nine others injured in severe weather that hit the state overnight.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Dean Flener says a husband and wife died and two others were injured in Polk County. He said at least seven injuries were reported in nearby McMinn County. He didn’t have further details on what happened.

Flener says suspected tornadic activity was reported in six counties, all in the southeastern corner of Tennessee.

A possible tornado swept through an area in northeast Alabama, killing three in a mobile home and injuring others as severe storms moved across the South overnight, authorities said.

The suspected tornado hit in the small community of Rosalie, Jackson County Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen said. Another person in the mobile home where the three died was critically injured, Harnen said.

Officials in nearby DeKalb County said the same possible tornado hit a closed day care center in the Ider community, injuring seven people, including three children.

“Those that were injured at the day care center had left their mobile home to seek shelter in the building,” said Anthony Clifton, DeKalb County Emergency Management Director.

Clifton said 50 to 60 homes in the county had been damaged with about half of them destroyed.

Harnen said there were a number of other injuries and estimated that 16 to 20 structures in Jackson County have been destroyed. He could not give an exact number of injuries.

Harnen and Clifton said authorities were searching door to door before dawn Wednesday for any other damage and injuries.

Possible tornadoes were reported across several counties in northern Alabama and southern Tennessee, National Weather Service meteorologist Lauren Nash said.

Tornadoes and hail were also reported Tuesday in Louisiana and Mississippi. In Mississippi, the National Weather Service in Jackson said late Tuesday that it had counted six confirmed tornadoes so far in the areas of the state it monitors.

The Storm Forecast Center in Norman, Oklahoma, issued a tornado watch from southeast Louisiana to northwest Georgia as a line of severe storm moved southeast Wednesday morning.

National Weather Service offices in Louisiana and Alabama planned to send personnel out Wednesday to check on possible tornados that occurred late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. </s> Tremendous thunderstorms with ping-pong ball-sized hail and dangerous tornadoes covered much of the Southeast — stretching from Louisiana up through Tennessee — Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

One tornado that tore through the hills of northeast Alabama killed three people and injured four children.

Rosalie, a small unincorporated rural community in Jackson County (about 100 miles northeast of Birmingham, near the state’s shared border with Tennessee and Georgia), was the most deeply affected area.

Three Alabama residents residing in a mobile home in Roslie were killed when the tornado touched down in the community, according to USA Today.

The Macklin Baptist Church, a flat building with rigid siding like a warehouse, and Rosalie Plaza, a gas station and grocery store in a long, red-brick building on AL-71, were both completely destroyed in the storm along with about 15 other structures, according to Rocky Harman, Chief Deputy of Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

In Ider, about 5 miles east, a tornado decimated a 24-hour day care facility, critically injuring four children. Several others at the facility were also injured, Reuters reported.

None of the names of the injured or dead have been released.

Property damage of varying degrees was reported throughout the rest of the state. Currently, AL.com noted, the American Red Cross is helping those in need — whether displaced or lacking power — at a local high school

Alabama Power, the primary power company for the state, reported 3,500 were left without power — mostly in west Alabama, with at least 100 in Birmingham, the state’s most populous city, according to AL.com.

Several schools in Alabama delayed opening, as a tornado watch was in place until 10 a.m. </s> BEAUREGARD: Rescuers in Alabama on Monday dug through the remnants of homes and businesses destroyed by a pair of tornadoes that killed at last 23 people, including children, the deadliest such storms to strike the United States in almost six years.

 The tornadoes ripped through the state’s Lee County on Sunday with winds of at least 240 kilometres per hour, at the midpoint of the five-step Enhanced Fujita scale, which meteorologists use to measure tornado strength.

 Mobile homes were tossed on their sides and ripped open, their contents strewn on the ground, live television images showed. Pieces of homes hung from trees that were not flattened by the storm.

 More than 50 people were reported injured and the death toll is expected to rise, authorities said, which could make the storms deadlier than the tornado that tore through Moore, Oklahoma, in 2013, killing 24 people.

 “It looks almost as if someone took a giant knife and just scraped the ground. There are slabs where homes formerly stood, debris everywhere, trees are snapped,” Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told a morning news conference. “I’ve not seen this level of destruction ever in my experience in Lee County.”

 One of the dead was a 6-year-old child, Jones said. Two of the injured have sustained critical injuries and at least 20 people remain unaccounted for, Lee County Coroner Bill Harris told CNN.

 On Twitter on Sunday, US President Donald Trump urged affected residents of Alabama and other areas to be “careful and safe.”

 “To the families and friends of the victims, and to the injured, God bless you all!” he tweeted.

 Temperatures in the state fell to 36 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, leaving some who lost heat because of the storms to struggle with the cold. — Reuters
Three people are dead after a tornado hits in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Alabama. Four other people are injured in neighboring De Kalb County.