Multiple tornadoes reported as severe weather outbreak hits Alabama, Georgia

An outbreak of severe weather – with multiple reports of tornadoes – continued Wednesday across the South, ahead of what promised to be a dangerous evening of violent storms for the region.

A tornado was reported to have caused damage in Abbeville, Alabama, Wednesday morning, emergency management officials said. Tornado damage was also reported in eastern Texas Wednesday afternoon, officials said, including reports of cars being blown off the road in Cass County. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The National Weather Service issued numerous tornado warnings throughout the afternoon, mainly in southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia.

The forecast for the evening includes all modes of severe weather, such as tornadoes, hail, high winds and even the chance of a derecho. A tornado watch was in effect for large portions of Alabama and Georgia.

Meanwhile, a heat wave was building for millions of people across Texas, where temperatures were forecast to soar to near 100 degrees in many spots Wednesday and over the next couple of days.

Severe weather outbreak for South

The predicted outbreak was described as “rare” by Weather.com meteorologist Ari Sarsalari, due to the system’s timing (mid-June) and location (the South). Usually severe weather outbreaks like this one take place earlier in the spring across the region.

Areas from northeast Louisiana to southwest Georgia were most at risk for the severe storms throughout Wednesday afternoon and into the evening, forecasters said.

A derecho was also possible: “There is the potential for a long-lived, high wind and torrential rain thunderstorm event, referred to as a derecho, in the high-risk zone into Wednesday night,” AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. These fast-moving thunderstorm complexes often behave like inland hurricanes and tend to produce damaging winds along a swath of hundreds of miles.