GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — A strong storm moving across northeast Alabama knocked down power lines and caused scattered damage in a retail district early Monday and forecasters said more bad weather was on the way.
Photos shared on social media showed plants and other items thrown around the parking lot of a Walmart store in Guntersville, Alabama. Nearby stores had to close because of power outages.
High winds left trees tilted sideways and utility lines drooped toward the ground. Farm buildings were damaged in rural Blount County, Alabama, where one person was reported injured.
The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings after radar indicated a possible twister. The weather service office in Huntsville said it was sending a team to determine whether a tornado caused damage.
The Storm Prediction Center says 26 million people were at a slight risk of severe storms in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Schools in DeKalb County, Alabama, and Northeast Alabama Community College delayed the start of classes due to the threat of severe weather. The weather service said several rounds of severe weather could move through the region.
It’s the third day in a row of heavy storms for parts of the South. Sunday night, a mobile home in Centreville in the southwest corner of Mississippi was destroyed, with Wilkinson County Emergency Management Director Mattie Powell telling WLBT-TV that four family members lost their possessions, but were uninjured. Weather may have also contributed to a traffic fatality Saturday near Ruleville, Mississippi.
In Louisiana, at least five homes, as well as cars and boats were damaged in the St. Amant community southeast of Baton Rouge on Sunday night. In northeastern Louisiana, Grambling State University and Morehouse Parish schools were closed Monday because of flash flooding.
