Severe weather: Tornado hits Florida Panhandle, strong storms possible along East

On May 28, 2022

A tornado struck Washington County, north of Panama City, county sheriff’s spokesperson Kristy Kolmetz said.

“There’s a total destruction of homes in that area,” Kolmetz told CNN. The conditions of the two injured people weren’t immediately available.

At least one tornado was reported before sunrise near the town of Alford in Washington County, according to the National Weather Service. Alford is about a 45-minute drive north-northeast of Panama City.

More severe storms, strong winds and a few tornadoes still are possible Thursday across a swath of the country’s eastern third.

Wind gusts of 40 mph or higher could hit states from Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas to parts of Michigan, Ohio and New York on Thursday morning or afternoon, creating chances of downed tree limbs and power lines, the National Weather Service said.

Possible Arkansas tornado injured 7 as more potential twisters and severe weather threaten Southeast

Also, a slight risk of severe thunderstorms exists in East Coast states Thursday from northern Florida to New York, the Storm Prediction Center said.

“Frequent lightning, severe thunderstorm wind gusts, hail and a few tornadoes” are possible there, the weather service said.

The slight severe-storm risk area covers more than 56 million people in East Coast states, including those in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Charlotte, North Carolina, the prediction center said.

A tornado watch is in effect until 2 p.m. ET Thursday for parts of the Florida Panhandle and southern and middle Georgia.

A lesser, “marginal” risk of severe storms covers a further 34 million people. That area includes Jacksonville and Tampa in Florida; Cleveland; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Cleveland and Pittsburgh, according to the prediction center.

Storms, with suspected tornadoes, damaged buildings in the South on Wednesday

Storms left damage in several parts of the South from Wednesday morning into the night.

Strong winds — possibly a tornado — hit Springdale, Arkansas, around 4 a.m. Wednesday, Mayor Doug Sprouse said in a Facebook post. The city’s southeast bore the brunt of the storm, according to local officials, who said there were reports of downed power lines, trees and traffic lights.

Seven people were injured in Springdale, including two critically, Sprouse said.

Buildings were flattened, roofs were damaged and yards were covered with storm debris, according to video from CNN affiliate KHBS/KHOG.

The gym at George Elementary School was destroyed, and the kitchen and cafeteria were severely damaged, the Springdale School District said.

“Many residents have been displaced from their homes and numerous businesses have reported significant damages,” Sprouse said.

Workers begin cleanup at the George Elementary School gym Wednesday in Springdale, Arkansas, after a possible tornado swept through the city.

Reports of tornadoes or damaging winds across the South picked up Wednesday afternoon and night.

In Alabama, one person suffered a minor injury from severe weather Wednesday night at the University of Montevallo, about 35 miles south of Birmingham, the school said. The area had been under a tornado warning that night. Details about how the injury happened weren’t immediately available.

“We are thankful that this week was spring break and that very few people were on campus during tonight’s storms,” the school said on Twitter, noting it was still doing a full damage assessment.

In southwestern Alabama’s Choctaw County, several homes received major to minor damage, emergency officials said. Southern Choctaw High School also sustained damage Wednesday to its baseball field and gym, and a school bus was flipped on its side, Tyler Davidson of the Choctaw County Emergency Management Agency said.

In eastern Mississippi’s Noxubee County, at least two mobile homes were damaged Wednesday, and residents were rescued from inside, Corey Brown from the county’s emergency management office said. It’s believed they suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Brown said.

High winds ahead of the storm system helped fuel a brush fire in Sevier County, Tennessee. At least one person was injured, and the flames have burned through at least 1,000 acres, county officials said. At least 35 structures have been affected.

US sets March record for number of tornadoes for second straight year

At least 214 US tornadoes have been reported in March — the most on record since reliable records began in 1950, according to data from the Storm Prediction Center. About 80 tornadoes are reported in March on average.

The previous March record was set just last year, when 191 tornadoes were reported across the country. The third-highest total for March was in 2017, with 187.

Most tornadoes in the US happen from April to May, though scientists have tracked a tendency toward more tornadoes occurring earlier in the year, likely as a function of climate change, as well as influences from La Nina.

“Our future projections of how severe weather may change in the future … they show an earlier start to the severe weather season, so more severe weather in February, more severe weather in March,” Victor Gensini, a professor at Northern Illinois University, told CNN.

CNN’s Aya Elamroussi, Brandon…

Severe weather: Tornado hits Florida Panhandle, strong storms possible along East

Storms, with suspected tornadoes, damaged buildings in the South on Wednesday

US sets March record for number of tornadoes for second straight year

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