Alabama was covered with severe weather warnings overnight, and the National Weather Service continued to collect reports of damage from the Tennessee state line all the way to the Gulf Coast.
At least one tornado has been confirmed as of Sunday, according to the weather service. That number will likely climb with several storm surveys planned or ongoing.
The line of storms had exited the state earlier today, and no additional severe weather is anticipated for the next several days, according to forecasts from the Storm Prediction Center.
The National Weather Service offices across Alabama spent Sunday compiling damage reports and making plans for more storm surveys.
The surveyors have confirmed one tornado so far, an EF1 with 100 mph winds that tracked right through downtown Athens in Limestone County.
The National Weather Service in Huntsville said the Athens tornado did not cause any injuries. It touched down at 11:15 p.m. Saturday just southwest of the city, and it was on the ground for 3.87 miles. It was 160 yards wide at its peak, according to the weather service.
The tornado damaged numerous structures in downtown Athens and spread debris throughout the square. Numerous buildings had part of their roofs removed.
The weather service said “though the Limestone County Courthouse thankfully didn’t sustain any damage other than their weathervane on the dome of the roof being bent, the very large oak tree beside the staircase wasn’t as fortunate; the 100-year old tree was uprooted.”
The tornado also took down an iron fence at Veterans Memorial Park and hurled a helicopter that was anchored to a metal pole about 50 to 60 feet away.
See the preliminary report on the Athens tornado here.
The weather service office in Birmingham also announced plans to survey damage in Lamar County in west Alabama. Other surveys are planned for areas in Shelby, Macon, Lowndes and Montgomery counties.
The weather service office in Mobile also issued multiple tornado warnings overnight, so more storm surveys could be coming.
Damage has also been reported in parts of Escambia County in south Alabama and in Baldwin County along the coast.
Here’s one storm report from Escambia County:
Here’s a report from Baldwin County (a tornado has not been confirmed but is suspected):
The weather service also got multiple reports of downed trees and power outages across the state overnight.
The weather service expects clouds to clear from west to east today, with mild temperatures hanging around.
The next system will bring a mostly-dry front through the state on Tuesday. No severe weather is expected.
Colder temperatures will return for the latter half of the work week, and there are signs that January could bring very cold temperatures to the U.S. It’s unclear how it could affect Alabama at this point.
