Weather officials: 24 tornadoes hit South over 2 days
At least two dozen tornadoes hit the Southeast this week in a deadly outbreak of severe weather, assessments by the National Weather Service show.
Survey teams from regional weather service offices found evidence that twisters struck from western Louisiana to southern Georgia on Monday and Tuesday, with 10 tornadoes in Mississippi alone, according to reports issued online. Another nine touched down in Alabama, survey teams found.
Louisiana was hit by three twisters, and two struck Georgia.
The strongest storm was an EF-3 tornado with winds of as much as 160 mph (258 kph) . It left a path 62 miles (100 kilometers) long and as wide as 400 yards (366) in Louisiana between the cities of DeRidder and Alexandria.
Storm surveys were continuing Wednesday, the weather service said.
A husband and wife died when a tornado struck their home in north Alabama, and a woman was killed in a twister in Louisiana. Another person died in flash flooding in Kentucky.
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The home of Gaylord Mir in Liberty, Miss., that was leveled by a tornado that hit Amite County on Monday, Dec. 16, 2019, is viewed on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. Despite the total destruction, a fragile glass angel ornament hanging on the family's Christmas tree was found unscathed while a neighbor was helping sift through remains on Tuesday. (Sarah Warnock/The Clarion-Ledger via AP) -
Cathie Morris, right, tells Red Cross volunteer Laurie Howell on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 that her sister was killed by one of the April 2011 tornadoes, not far from what they're standing, in front of Morris' house, damaged by the Monday, December 16, 2019 storms off Neely Hill Loop in Limestone County, Ala. (Jeronimo Nisa/The Decatur Daily via AP) -
Emergency crews began to assess damage and restore power lines to homes after a storm in Liberty, Miss., on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. Homes and property were devastated on Monday by a tornado that hit Amite County in the Liberty, Miss area. (Barbara Gauntt/The Clarion-Ledger via AP) -
Brandon Hayden, left, motions toward a machine shop where he and uncle, Jimmy Burns, right, took cover when a tornado struck Amite County Monday afternoon in Liberty, Miss., seen on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. (Barbara Gauntt/The Clarion-Ledger via AP) -
Johnny Carter stands by a section of his residence on Moyers Road damaged by the Monday, December 16 storm in Limestone County, Ala., Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019Carter and his family moved to this house after they were seriously injured by the 2014 tornado in the Clements, Ala. Community. (Jeronimo Nisa/The Decatur Daily via AP)
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