Tornadoes rip through the South
ATLANTA (AP) - Thousands without power, nearly a dozen tornadoes and at least three people as a dangerous storm system moves through the South on Tuesday.
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Here are the latest reports state-by-state:
Virginia State Police are now confirming three deaths in the tiny town of Waverly, which appears to be taking the brunt of a fast-moving storm sweeping across the East Coast.
Television newscasts showed shattered windows, splintered wood and shocked residents sizing up the aftermath of the storm.
Aftermath of tornado in Waverly Va
Virginia State Police say at least five structures within the town limits have been damaged.
The names of the victims and the circumstances of their deaths were not released.
Roads leading into the town had to be closed because of downed trees and debris tossed by winds gusting to 60 mph.
The severe weather spawned several suspected twisters in Waverly and in the greater Richmond area.
Waverly is about 50 miles south of Richmond.
Heavy rains saturated most of north Georgia as south Georgia saw some tornado warnings during the overnight hours from a fierce passing front.
Several trees were blown down across metro Atlanta. A couple was trapped in their home after a tree fell on their home. The woman escaped harm, but fire officials said the man suffered a broken leg.
Georgia Power reported, at its height, nearly 20,000 customers across the state were without power. Outage numbers were not immediate available from individual EMCs.
The National Weather Service says a confirmed tornado has hit Pensacola, Florida.
A tangled wall of tree limbs and power lines partially blocked the entrance to The Moorings apartment complex in the Pensacola area.
Winds ripped off the top floors of two of the two-story buildings. A large oak tree fell on the side of one building and dozens of cars in the parking lot were smashed under a layer of wood, twisted metal, insulation and other debris.
Gov. Rick Scott and Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward toured the complex Wednesday morning, and talked to residents.
Angela Barrows is with the management company that owns the complex. She says they were fortunate more people weren't hurt.
Meteorologist Steve Miller says the service has had many reports of property damage and people injured in storms Tuesday night.
No major injuries were reported.
In northwest Alabama, the National Weather Service said radar showed a tornado touched down briefly in Marion County near Hackleburg, which was devastated by a killer tornado nearly five years ago.
State troopers said officers were reporting fallen trees and a few structures with roof damage in the area. No injuries were reported.
An emergency management official in west Alabama says a storm has knocked down trees and damaged at least one home near the rural town of Reform.
Ken Gibson, emergency management director in Pickens County, says no one was injured in the storm Tuesday.
The National Weather Service tweeted that radar showed an apparent twister in the area around the time the damage was reported, but Gibson says he isn't sure what had happened.
"I don't know if it was a small tornado, straight-line winds or a microburst," he said.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has issued a state of emergency because of severe weather approaching his state.
The declaration released Tuesday means schools won't have to make up any days lost because of the storms. It also directs emergency management officials to offer any assistance needed because of severe weather.
Bentley's action came after the National Weather Service placed southwest Alabama under a tornado watch. Storms moving toward the state already have caused damage near New Orleans, where a possible tornado touched down.
A flash flood watch covered central Alabama, where forecasters said as much as 2 inches of rain was possible. The weather service issued an advisory saying winds up to 40 mph were possible in the Tennessee Valley region of north Alabama.
Mississippi officials have identified a man killed when a mobile home was struck by an apparent tornado.
Lamar County Coroner Cody Creel said that 73-year-old Dale Purvis died of blunt-force trauma. The injuries came about 4 p.m. Tuesday, as the area southwest of Hattiesburg was under a tornado warning.
Vann Byrd of the Lamar County Emergency Management Agency says the storm damaged at least a handful of buildings.
David Cox, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pearl, Mississippi, says forecasters spotted debris on the ground which is a typical hallmark of a tornado. Storm damage was also reported at a second location in the county that appeared to be caused by the severe storm system.
Authorities say at least one person has died after a possible tornado touched down in Mississippi.
Vann Byrd of the Lamar County Emergency Management Agency says the death occurred Tuesday in a mobile home west of Purvis. Byrd didn't release the person's name.
Byrd says officials are still sorting through reports of damage to some buildings.
David Cox, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pearl, Mississippi, says forecasters spotted debris on the ground on Tuesday afternoon that is a typical hallmark of a tornado. Storm damage was also reported at a second location in the county that appeared to be caused by the severe storm system.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has issued a state of emergency for all areas of his state that may be affected by the approach of severe weather.
A severe storm system with potential for strong tornadoes, damaging winds, hail and heavy rain, is expected to cross Mississippi through Tuesday night.
Bryant's office says the state of emergency is an administrative tool that allows local governments to request state assistance to help with response and recovery associated with any storm recovery.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said it was monitoring developments and would provide updates as information becomes available.
The meteorologist in charge for the National Weather Service's southeast Louisiana office says at least seven tornadoes have hit southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi.
Ken Graham says that number includes the one that slammed into a trailer park in Convent, Louisiana, Tuesday and one that killed a person near Purvis, Mississippi.
Martin said at least 30 people were wounded. Of those, seven are in critical condition. Richard Zuschlag, chairman and CEO of Acadian Ambulance Service Inc., says ambulances have taken eight people to hospitals from houses in Convent, but fallen trees have kept them from reaching the damaged trailer park.
Trees are toppled over and only about six to eight trailers at the Sugar Hill RV Park are left standing. Footage showed dozens of other trailers lay crumpled, flipped on their sides or pushed into or on top of other mobile homes.
Graham said teams will be sent out in the morning to document the damage and rate the tornadoes.
Severe weather has been moving through southern Louisiana and Mississippi. At least three people have been killed -- two in Louisiana and one in Mississippi.
Graham said a lightning strike hit the building where the weather service is located in Slidell, knocking out their radar systems and forcing them to go to backup systems.
This is footage of the funnel cloud that was trying to make touchdown near airport in Kenner Louisiana
Emergency officials and the National Weather Service say a suspected tornado spotted near Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport apparently touched down in a field near a suburban neighborhood.
It was part of a line of severe weather passing through Southeast Louisiana. It is believed to be one of many wind storms and possible tornadoes that erupted Tuesday around the greater New Orleans area, including possible sightings north of Lake Pontchartrain and west of that city in St. Charles Parish.
There were reports of cars damaged at a parking lot near the airport.
tornado just came through Laplace
Residents in LaPlace, Louisiana, are cleaning up after a tornado ripped through the area. As many as 200 homes were damaged late Tuesday afternoon. Only minor injuries were reported.
The hum of chain saws could be heard as people got to work Wednesday cutting trees and fixing damaged roofs.
Eighty-year-old Rose Fuselier was in her house when the twister hit. She hid in a closet but then thinking the danger had passed, she came out. That's when the door burst open. As she was struggling to push the door closed, the windows in the front of the house shattered.
Down the street, Darren Miller was in front of his parents' house Tuesday when he heard a roaring noise. At one point, as the tornado swept through, he said he couldn't even see across the street.
Severe weather hit LaPlace today. Perhaps a tornado. We are fine and dry although we may not have power until Thursday. Reports of a lot of damage to homes, cars, and businesses
The windows in the house exploded and a 57-year-old oak tree went through the roof. As many as 200 homes in the area were damaged Tuesday.
The National Weather Service is investigating two distinct tornado paths that crossed through St. John the Baptist Parish in Louisiana.
Officials said that many residents who lost homes during the storm were previously affected by Hurricane Isaac in August 2012.
Storms in South Texas have left thousands of people without power and windows broken after hail the size of golf balls damaged some buildings.
The Kinney County Sheriff's Office says nobody was hurt in Monday night's bad weather.
Dispatcher Ana Amescua says hail the size of golf balls and larger broke windows throughout Brackettville -- including at the town's schools. Administrators canceled classes Tuesday in Brackettville, 30 miles east of Del Rio.
AEP Texas reported about 10,000 customers in Del Rio without electricity after a substation was damaged. Classes were canceled Tuesday at the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District due to no power.
A Houston ISD bus flipped Tuesday while driving on a rain-slick road, leaving the driver slightly hurt. No children were aboard.