Tornado Death Toll Near 300; Obama Visits Tomorrow

President Obama will visit Alabama tomorrow to see the tornado devastation for himself and meet with families and Gov. Robert Bentley, reports AP. Meanwhile:

• The total death toll is at 280 and expected to rise. Alabama is the hardest hit with 194 fatalities, followed by Mississippi (33), Tennessee (33), Georgia (14), Virginia (5), and Kentucky (1).
• That's the worst total since a 1974 tornado outbreak killed 315.
• The Tuscaloosa News has running updates, including reports of about 500 people at a Red Cross shelter.
• "We have neighborhoods that have been basically removed from the map," says Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox.
• Click to see videos of the tornadoes.

(More Southern tornadoes stories.)