Reeves' car became stuck underneath the tree. The announcement was made Tuesday night in anticipation of the severe weather. A tornado warning is in effect for the areas until 1:15 p.m. NWS said a confirmed tornado was located over the Dallas County town of Burnsville, near the Autauga County town of Valley Grande, at 12:30 p.m. Deacon Clarence Shuler confirmed the woman and boy were members of the same family. Possible Tornado Hits Montgomery Area, Damaging Homes But what about trying to determine where in the state tornadoes strike the most? Selma Mayor James Perkins told WSFA on Thursday that one person was believed to be trapped in a building and another is possibly missing. Mother, 8-year-old son identified as victims of deadly tornado in Three transmission structures had also been damaged. The city had authorized crews to go into an unincorporated area of the county and help with rescue efforts. Road blockages prevent bus drivers from traveling their regular routes after school, but Superintendent Zickeyous Byrd said parents are welcome to come and check out their scholars at this time.. This is a developing story. Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store! 23, 2023, 9:55 p.m. A brief tornado touched down in central Fayette County on Friday as rain and a few storms moved through the state. Other outages in Elmore County are located south of Tallassee. I was so scared.. This is a sad day for Montgomery County as a whole and for the Flatwood community, Sankey said. Joseph Lharris had recently dropped a friend off out of town and was driving back toward Selma when he noticed the weather changed. 2023 www.montgomeryadvertiser.com. The tornado touched down in the 300 block of Williams Drive in the Flatwood community. There have been at least 54 incidents of storm damage throughout the nation Thursday.. NWS upgrades deadly overnight Montgomery County tornado to EF-2 The tornado started in Mississippi and crossed the state line into Pickens County about 2.3 miles south of Highway 82. Data shows the location and intensity of drought across the country. At least 11 tornadoes hit Alabama in three days Last few hours have been very tough on the community, but certainly could have been worse, Reed said. The Air Quality Index (AQI) translates air quality data into numbers and colors that help people understand when to take action to protect their health. Elmore and Montgomery counties (Flatwood-Willow Springs tornado). Citizens please refrain from traveling the roadways and stay away from down power lines. (WPTV) . Montgomery County Commission Chairman Doug Singleton said county workers are ready to help in other ways, as well. A relief fund has been set up by the River Region United Way to help those impacted by the storms. That includes many EF2s, EF3s and even a few intense EF4 tornadoes. Opelika City Schools in Lee County are delayed two hours. More:Mother and son dead after EF-2 tornado hits Montgomery on Nov. 30, More:Alabama tornado season: What we know, storm history, more. Cheryl Kelleys apartment sustained minor damage, including a broken window and shingles torn off her roof. Severe thunderstorms rumbled through Central Alabama on Tuesday morning, touching off numerous tornado warnings, downed trees and power lines, sporadic power outages and torrential rains. Montgomery Public Schools canceled all after-school activities Tuesday, including athletics. Click on each county to see the details. The district will be virtual tomorrow. One track stretches four miles from the Jasmine Hill Road area in south Wetumpka. In Elmore County the storm apparently skipped across the county, touching down in two locations. Possible tornado damages homes, park in east Montgomery - MSN At least 2 killed in Alabama as severe storms and tornadoes sweep - CNN Everythings gone downtown. Kay Ivey. Crews are converging in the Marbury area along County Road 68, where there are multiple reports of home and structure damage. At least 7 now dead in Autauga County after storms, tornado strike Alabama, Did historic Selmas homes, monuments withstand possible tornado? You can give to the fund by texting DISASTER23 to 41444 or going torruw.org. 2023 www.montgomeryadvertiser.com. Mother and son dead after EF-2 tornado hits Montgomery - Yahoo News "A tornado has definitely damaged Selma. Macon County Schools are having a virtual day on Wednesday. Do not drive over lines or under low-hanging lines. Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. MPS said students would be released from school at the usual time. He rode out the storm in his basement and was relieved to find no damage to his house. "The trees start swaying and the wind was knocking everywhere," Lharris said. The tornado total of 11 was as from Mondays surveys, so the numbers could rise. Locally, the counties with the most people have the highest tornado numbers. While a majority of Alabamas twisters strike between noon and 7 pm, more than 30% of all tornadoes to hit the state over the last 70 years have come while its dark! The tornado was likely an EF-2 or EF-3, he added. Authorities said the victims, a 39-year-old woman and 8-year-old boy, were mother and son. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) A tornado touched down in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on Saturday as a powerful storm system brought intense rain and powerful winds to the state, overturning cars, damaging homes and snapping tree branches. Severe Weather Outbreak - March 6, 1996 There are several ways to get wind damage, said Jason Holmes of the NWS office in Birmingham. Images from the scene showed cars flipped over on top of each other, cracked tree limbs resting on vehicles and homes, as well as other debris littering streets. Radar. Gov. Alabama Tornado Database 2022 - National Weather Service The storm knocked out power for about 750 homes Wednesday morning, Reed said at a news conference. Jason Holmes, a meteorologist at the Birmingham branch of the NWS, said Thursday morning that most of central Alabama was at risk of severe weather. Dozens of homes were destroyed and dozens more damaged in the path of the storm, said Ernie Baggett, director of the Autauga County Emergency Management Agency. Read more about the impact of the storm on the Flatwood community here. Since 2000, we see an average of 60 tornadoes in a given calendar year. The company said fallen trees had led to downed wires across the area. He crossed a bridge and saw wind coming from the other direction. He was thankful that this time it happened in the daylight instead of while everyone was asleep. 2023 www.montgomeryadvertiser.com. According to records, the largest tornado in the Montgomery area was an F4 in 2011 that caused 30 injuries and 7 deaths. Sandy Greene saw the tornado come right in front of the Selma Country Club. Path length 9.92 miles; path width 650 yards. Alabama Tornado Database : 2022 Tornado Occurrences (98) Indicates Total Path Data Multi-State (F-unknown are treated as EF0) Tornado # of Year : Year : Month : . The brief tornado tracked from County Road 88 where several trees were uprooted, uprooted a tree on County Road 61, and ended on County Road 126 where chicken houses had minor roof damage. It literally sounded like there were a thousand baseball bats hitting the side of the house at the same time, Penn said. The latest death was confirmed by Autauga County Sheriff Dave Hill. The deaths and those missing were in the Old Kingston community in the central part of the county. The company warned people to stay away from downed lines and steer clear of fallen trees or limbs were lines could be hidden. River Region Academy in Montgomery will close at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, an employee for the K-12 private school confirmed. Dangerous lines may touch the metal. A NWS storm survey team found evidence of an EF-1 tornado in Jackson County in Pisgah, AL. Ivey wrote. At approximately 3:30 a.m., a significant weather event killed a 39-year-old woman and an 8-year-old boy at the same residence, Capt. Selma officials have called this a disaster area. Many roads are blocked with storm debris in Selma, as well as throughout the county. ", As of 3 p.m., most streets in Selma are closed due to fallen power lines and trees, according to the office of Mayor James Perkins. According to the Montgomery Emergency Management Agency, the damage was concentrated in the following areas: Mayor Steven Reed, members of the city council and others held a news conference Wednesday to update the public. The data is updated every month. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. In fact, it hit our house, but not head-on. The warnings then went out for Elmore and Montgomery counties. Authorities confirmed he was the father of the 8-year-old boy who died. His next step was to check on elderly people in the neighborhood. Multiple dead, widespread damage across Alabama in tornado outbreak There is also damage in the Houston Park neighborhood of Selma and rural areas of Dallas County along Highway 14 around Burnsville. January 6, 2023 A possible tornado spawned in Montgomery, Alabama, as a system of severe weather moved across the Southeast. Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. Alex Gladden covers public safety for the Advertiser. Minutes before, NWS warned Autauga, Elmore and Coosa Counties of a large and extremely dangerous tornado in the area. There have been at least 54 incidents of storm damage throughout the nation Thursday. Montgomery County crews stand ready to assist our neighboring counties as they clean-up and rebuild.. Hill said responders are preparing to take several injured to the local hospitals. "We have already seen parts of the state rattled by this severe weather system, which is why I have issued a state of emergency for six of our counties that were in the path of Mother Natures wrath: Autauga, Chambers, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore and Tallapoosa," Ivey wrote on social media. Montgomery, AL 36104 (334) 288-1212; Terms of . . It was a flashpoint of the civil rights movement and where Alabama state troopers viciously attacked Black people advocating for voting rights as they marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965. Initial surveys of . Morris said it was about the fifth time the neighborhood had come together to recover from storms. Some local school districts are changing their schedules Wednesday after the early-morning storms. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Seven people are now confirmed dead and significant damage is being reported from Thursday's severe storms and tornado outbreak across much of central Alabama.. The Montgomery County EMA said it received reports of damage in the areas of Merriweather Road, Prairie Lane, Rochester Mews, Halcyon Boulevard and Buddy Watson Baseball Park. The city of Montgomery has cancelled all afternoon and evening classes that were scheduled for January 12 at the Armory Learning Arts Center. Autauga County Schools canceled all after-school activities Thursday. Start: 34.6785/-85.8392 End: 34.7025/-85.7936: 32: 2023 : 3: 3 . All rights reserved. Autauga EMA is also reporting damage along C.R. The tornado tracked northeast and crossed Eagle Road and County Road 30 before dissipating just north of Highway 82. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Several homes and businesses in Montgomery were damaged by a possible tornado early Wednesday morning. The National Weather Service has dropped some counties . The tornado touched down west of Hamilton in western Alabama at 2:05 p.m. that day and left a 132-mile path that took it through parts of Marion, Franklin, Lawrence, Morgan, Limestone and Madison . New information gathered in the Flatwood community in Montgomery County as part of a preliminary storm survey led the National Weather Service Office in Birmingham Wednesday afternoon to upgrade the tornado's ranking to EF-2 with winds reaching 115 miles per hour. Law enforcement encouraged people who have been impacted by the possible tornado to go to Union Academy Baptist Church at 4748 Lower Wetumpka Rd. Residents reported losing patios, roofs and shingles on their homes throughout the area. We live in an area that sees the ingredients for severe weather and tornadoes come together more than any other part of the country during the cold months of November, December, January, February, March, and April (maps available here). The department also has extra supervisors and district commanders in place if needed. Compare that to just 39 tornadoes when looking at the average dating back to 1970! Brown said this tornado is the worst thing shes ever experienced. Multiple reports of homes and other structures damaged and trees down. Although debris did hit her son in the head, no one in the home was seriously injured. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Seven people are now confirmed dead and significant damage is being reported from Thursdays severe storms and tornado outbreak across much of central Alabama. Stay clear of areas with fallen trees or limbs where downed lines may be hidden. Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency for six counties after severe weather struck central Alabama on Thursday. Other authorities confirmed the victims were mother and son. EF1 tornadoes have maximum wind speeds between. Alabama has tornado "hot spots" and overall tornado numbers - WSFA Montgomery Public Schools is canceling all after-school activities Thursday, according to a text sent to parents shortly after 12 p.m. Chilton County Schools dismissed at 11 a.m. Thursday. We had a massive tree that fell on the home, Castanza said. The roads to that neighborhood were expected to be blocked for several hours due to downed trees and powerlines, he said at the time. In 2022, Alabama experienced 92 tornados, which caused $219,000 in damages, according to the Tuscaloosa News. More than two dozen homes in the Hunting Ridge neighborhood near downtown Prattville had roof and structural damage, mostly the result of fallen trees. Those include Jefferson County and adjacent counties such as Tuscaloosa, Walker, Fayette, and Blount. The Montgomery County Sheriffs Office is ready to provide equipment and resources to assist our neighbors during this difficult time.. And look, there's one right here in Montgomery. Subscribe today. Some counties where tornado warnings had been issued reported trees down and homes damaged. All schools and students in Autauga County are safe after a tornado moved through the central part of the county Thursday afternoon, per the Autauga County Emergency Management Agency after getting a call from the school system. According to the Autauga County EMA, there are multiple reports of homes damaged, trees down, and injuries in the Old Kingston area after damaging storms moved through the area. He said, 'Look at this, this is Alexander City. Initial surveys of the Montgomery-area damage by the National Weather Service found: An EF2 tornado touched down Sunday night in the Macon County community of Milstead with winds of 125 miles per hour. Several homes and other buildings have received "substantial" damage, she said. Call us at 1-800-888-2726 or contact a local law enforcement agency if downed lines are spotted. Maximum winds were estimated to be around 100 mph. Florida tornado: Cars flipped, homes damaged - al.com Montgomery, Alabama - Wikipedia 0:27. "Everywhere I went, whatever direction I went in, there was devastation," Lharris said. The damage along the path consisted mainly of snapped and . Possible tornado damages homes, park in east Montgomery - al.com Published: Apr. The people of the Black Belt are strong, and we will get through this together!. I went to the bathroom and it seemed like in a minute or two I heard this roaring going over the house. Autauga County Sheriff David Hill confirmed that an adult male died as a result of the tornado that hit the county early Thursday afternoon. mi.) First responders also took a man who lived in the same residence as the 39-year-old woman and 8-year-old boy to the hospital. The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency said the upgrade means the tornado that hit the Flatwood community in a northern portion of the county had winds up to 115 mph. Zoom in on the map above and click or tap the icons to get more information about each reported tornado. Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's public safety reporter. It damaged multiple vehicles and structures and sent pieces of. She later added, We can replace the material things, but you cant replace lives.. I dont know about Selma yet, but were also ready to deploy once the storm is over, Cooper said. . The country club's roof was ripped off in the tornado. To put things in perspective, winds of 75 miles per hour are a minimal hurricane. Multiple reports of extensive property damage are coming into the Autauga EMA following a confirmed tornado that struck the central part of the county. The Selma Country Club in west Selma was severely damaged by the tornado that touched down shortly after 12 p.m. Thursday. She said "you couldn't hardly see.". Any time you can walk away from something like this, and theres no lives lost, I think its a blessing, Booker said. More than a dozen people were missing Thursday. Were also ready to deploy to some of the areas like Lightwood. That included 1,000 people in Elmore County, 900 people in Montgomery County, 560 people in Butler County and 300 people in Tallapoosa County. Joshua Douglass with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said. All rights reserved. The National Weather Service's Birmingham office confirmed the storm was a tornado Wednesday afternoon after surveying damage in the county. For more information on the EF-Scale. This interactive map, which contains data from January 1950 to January 31, 2023, pinpoints where a cyclone touched down and traces its path of destruction. The possible tornado touched down in the 300 block of Williams Drive in the Flatwood Community. Meteorologists found at least EF-3 damage in the Kingston area of Autauga County, where seven people have died, and at least EF-2 damage in the Selma area. The account said the storm touched down "moments ago, producing damage.". Montgomery Assistant Fire Chief Stanley Cooper said the department is all hands on deck to respond to the storm. 'Significant damage' in Montgomery neighborhood after possible tornado NWS said a "large and extremely dangerous tornado" is moving through Selma and urged residents to take shelter. Alabama Community 'Wiped Off the Map' by Tornado, Extreme - Insider It is raining through the roof in the kitchen," Sanders told AP. Tornado history:Alabama tornado season: What we know, storm history, more, Dangerous weather across the South:Tornadoes hit Mississippi, central Louisiana; 125M in Midwest, Northeast in path of severe winds. Montgomery EMA reported an hour later at 3:30 p.m. that storm damage in the immediate area has been very minimal.. We appreciate the patience of the community and our crew members as we work to clear areas damaged by last night's storm.