A series of possible tornadoes have cut a path through east-central Alabama and west-central Georgia over the last few hours, knocking out power to tens of thousands and destroying many buildings in their paths.
The same thunderstorm is responsible for all the damage, and it will take NWS surveys to be sure exactly what caused the damage. However, based on the damage reports, there's little doubt that the damage was caused by one long-track tornado or series of tornadoes.
Here was the storm as it went through Montgomery AL at about 1054AM Central Time:
WSFA-TV:
WSFA 12 News reporters on the scene at Sunshine Village say there are no injuries to report, but approximately nine trailers with damage. There are around 30 firefighters on the scene.
Alabama Power is reporting more than 16,700 customers in the Montgomery area without service.
Montgomery County Commissioner Reed Ingram said in the county there is "minimal damage" and reported trees down near Mt. Zion Road. He added that all county roads remain open.
Here was the storm from around 1200-1230PM Central Time as it went through Auburn and Opelika in east-central Alabama. Green indicates wind moving towards the radar, red indicates wind moving away. Where they meet up and tighten just south of the two cities indicates the strong rotation -- the (possible) tornado -- on radar.
OANow:
Homes were badly damaged and a number of large trees were uprooted in the area of Green Street near Samford Avenue in Auburn, behind Auburn High School.
An estimated 5,800 are without power in Auburn, according to Alabama Power.
There was also a report of property damage at Ridgewood Village on Wire Road, and trees down on Hamilton Road in Opelika. There was another report of property damage near Alabama Highway 51 in Opelika.
A student at Auburn University on Twitter took the following picture of a damaged Auburn Tiger Transit bus and posted it to TwitPic:
The storm continued off towards the northeast, entering Harris County in western Georgia, with this wind velocity radar loop taken from 1246PM to 109PM Central Time:
WTVM out of Columbus GA reports heavy damage from the storm:
2:26 p.m. Harris County, GA - News Leader 9 confirms the 911 center is destroyed. Crews are routing all emergency calls through Columbus. In addition, it is confirmed that there is damage to a Harris County high school. All students and staff are accounted for. Sheriff's deputies [...] urge that the kids are safe and they are working on clearing the roads. It has not been confirmed at this time if a tornado touched down in Harris County.
The storm is now about 45 miles south of Atlanta proper, moving towards the east-northeast. It's lost some of its rotation, but there is still a tornado watch in effect for much of Alabama, Georgia, the Florida Panhandle, and western South Carolina through tonight.
Stay safe and keep an eye on the weather. I'll update this diary if any further information comes out.
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