Storms Ravage Alabama As Tornadoes Upend Homes

Images of upended houses and downed trees emerged online after severe storms and tornadoes swept across parts of Alabama on Wednesday night into Thursday, leaving thousands of homes without power.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch on Wednesday, warning of severe thunderstorms and damaging wind gusts through parts of the central Gulf Coast states overnight, heading to the far upper Midwest and Northeast Thursday. Cities including Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia could see strong winds, hail and tornadoes.

The storms are expected to head to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast on Friday.

According to the PowerOutage.US website, more than 30,000 Alabama homes have experienced power outages, many of them likely caused by the severe weather.

Several roads are blocked in Camden, Wilcox County, television station WSFA reported on Thursday. Homes and vehicles were also damaged by the extreme weather.

In Brierfield in Bibb County, a mobile home was destroyed and a woman had to be rescued, the local television channel reported.

Elsewhere, one person was injured at the University of Montevallo, 35 miles south of Birmingham, on Wednesday night.

"We are thankful that this week was spring break and that very few people were on campus during tonight's storms," the university said, adding it was still assessing the scale of the damage.

Choctaw County has also been badly impacted. The county's Emergency Management Agency issued a weather update at 1.55 a.m. on Thursday morning.

"Overnight we had several reporting some type of damage to homes in their areas and thankfully we had no injuries," it said.

"Damage assessments will continue in the morning and we'll get a better look at Wednesday night's impact."

Newsweek has contacted the agency for an update on the storm damage.

There were further reports of damage in Shelby and Sumter counties, including in Livington, where the Rush Medical Group office, just east of the University of West Alabama, was affected, according to the county Emergency Management Agency.

Local meteorologist James Spann reported tornado damage on Wednesday near Chelsea along Shelby County Road 47, near Lesters Chapel Church. Newsweek has contacted Spann for an update.

Marengo County Emergency Management Agency reported fallen trees blocking roadways and the Faunsdale co-op building sustained roof damage from the severe weather.

In Tuscaloosa County, at least two tornadoes were reported but no injuries have been confirmed in the area.

Strong winds also lashed parts of Mississippi on Wednesday night, including the capital city Jackson, where a tornado was reported.