Storms Kill 4 in Alabama, Wreak Havoc Across South

Tree fell on family's mobile home
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 3, 2017 12:03 AM CST
Storms Kill 4 in Alabama, Cause Damage Across South
Emergency crews gather at the scene after a storm ripped through a mobile home killing several people in Rehobeth, Ala., Monday, Jan. 2, 2017.    (Jay Hare)

A powerful storm system that moved across the South on Monday killed four people in Alabama and left a trail of damage over several states, officials say. The line of severe thunderstorms spawned several possible tornadoes, and the threat continued into early Tuesday for southern Alabama, southwest Georgia, and the Florida Panhandle, the AP reports. Four people were killed Monday evening when a tree fell on their mobile home in Rehobeth, Ala., according to a spokeswoman for the Dothan Houston County Emergency Management Agency. The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for Houston County in the southern part of the state Monday evening.

In Georgia, some of the heaviest rains were expected late Monday night and into the overnight hours of early Tuesday, forecasters said. State emergency officials reported no injuries or deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi, but a trip to Walmart was memorable for shoppers in Marksville, La., as severe weather blew out skylights in the store, sending water and glass cascading onto shoppers. Marksville Fire Chief Jerry Bordelon says a fireworks stand in the parking lot was tossed 30 or 40 yards and mangled. The storm also knocked over 18-wheel truck trailers and punched holes in the Walmart's roof. The fire department ordered shoppers to leave the store, but some didn't want to leave. "Believe it or not, we had some people in there who were still trying to shop," Bordelon says. (More extreme weather stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X