At a Glance
- A state of emergency was declared Wednesday in Georgia.
- Residents in Bryan County were told to pause cleanup ahead of more storms.
- At least three deaths have been blamed on the storms.
At least three deaths are being blamed on the latest outbreak of severe weather to leave a trail of destruction across the South.
Tornadoes continued to rake parts of the region Wednesday, after more than two dozen were confirmed from Monday to Tuesday.
A state of emergency was declared in Georgia and residents in areas already hard-hit were told to brace for more bad weather.
(MORE: Track the Severe Threat Here)
Here's a look at what happened Wednesday:
Damage Reported Across South as Storms Persist
From a downed utility pole after a possible tornado in Palm Beach County, Florida, to at least two homes damaged in Thomasville, Georgia, storms continued to impact communities across the South Wednesday night.
As of about 10 p.m. EDT, the National Weather Service had received damage reports from Alabama, Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina and Georgia.
Most of the reports had to do with downed trees and power lines.
About 17,000 power outages were being reported in Georgia, according to PowerOutage.us.
Man Dies After Hitting Fallen Tree in Louisiana
Gene Latin, a 65-year-old correctional officer, was driving on a U.S. highway in Webster Parish early Tuesday morning when his car hit a tree that had been knocked down by a storm, according to Louisiana State Police.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
It was the third death related to this outbreak of severe weather: 71-year-old W. M. Soloman died when a tree fell on his home in Whitehouse, Texas, and the body of a woman was found in the rubble of a mobile home after a tornado in Bryan County, Georgia.
Those deaths also happened on Tuesday.
Drill-Bit Tornado in Central Georgia
A tall, narrow tornado known as a drill bit touched down near Cordele Wednesday afternoon. The tornado skipped across a field near a dirt road and was filmed up close by storm chasers.
“You don’t very often see them in the South, Southeast," weather.com meteorologist Ari Sarsalari said in a video explaining the phenomenon. "They’re more typical out in the Plains.”
Click here for the full video.
Georgia Declares State of Emergency
Citing damage from tornadoes and severe weather, Gov. Brian Kemp issued an emergency declaration for the entire state.
The declaration came after damage was reported in several parts of the state and one person was killed, and as fresh storms continue to batter some areas today, including a tornado that touched down near Lake Blackshear outside of Cordele.
Students Take Shelter at School in Tallahassee, Florida
Students at Deerlake Middle School in the Florida capital took shelter in interior rooms and buses were held due to a tornado warning for the area, Leon County Schools tweeted at 4:11 p.m. EDT Wednesday.
Hundreds of Reports of Severe Weather
There have been more than 250 reports of severe weather nationwide since Monday, including wind, hail and tornadoes.
The number of confirmed tornadoes as of about 3 p.m. Wednesday was:
-South Carolina, 11
-Mississippi, 6
-Georgia, 5
-Texas, 3
-Alabama, 2
These numbers will likely rise as further surveys are done by National Weather Service teams across the South. Some of those surveys are being delayed by the new round of severe weather moving through today.
Residents Hit by Tuesday Night's Storms Told to Take Shelter Again Wednesday
Officials in In Bryan County, Georgia, urged residents to stop any cleanup efforts by mid-afternoon Wednesday and take shelter ahead of new storms that could head their way, the Associated Press reported.
One Killed by Tornado in Bryan County, Georgia
At least one person is dead after a tornado tore through the northern parts of Bryan County Tuesday afternoon. WSAV reported that several others were injured.
The victim hasn't been identified, but Bryan County officials said that it was a woman who died when the tornado hit her mobile home.
“It was just completely ripped to pieces,” Bryan County Coroner Bill Cox told The Associated Press. “It’s like it exploded.”
Her husband also went to the hospital with injuries.
The tornado first hit the Bryan County courthouse in downtown Pembroke and then tracked east into nearby neighborhoods and then into the small town of Ellabell. The area is roughly 30 miles west of downtown Savannah.
Photos and videos from the scene showed the courthouse was heavily damaged.
It's unclear how many homes and buildings are damaged or destroyed at this time, but video from the immediate aftermath of the area showed several houses severely damaged. Bryan County Fire and Emergency Services said there were multiple people trapped right after the tornado hit.
A state of emergency and a curfew were declared for the area late Tuesday to keep people out of the wreckage.
Miles of Damage in Allendale After Tornado Emergency
There was at least 10 to 15 miles of damage in destruction in Allendale County, South Carolina, after a tornado tracked across the county Tuesday.
Damage assessments were still ongoing, but early estimates found that 11 houses had been damaged or destroyed.
Brandon Lavorgna, the PIO for the South Carolina Emergency Management Agency told WRDW that there were no deaths and 3 non-life-threatening injuries.
Calls poured into 911 dispatchers in Allendale, South Carolina, after what the National Weather Service said was a large and extremely dangerous tornado passed over the area around 4 p.m.
A tornado emergency was declared for the city, located about 73 miles south of Columbia.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
