February 18, 2008

AP

PRATTVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Severe weather pummeled much of the nation's eastern half Sunday, producing damaging tornadoes in the South and treating winter-weary parts of the Midwest to freezing rain, snow and flooding.

Photo: Ross Miller helps salvage belongings at the home of Arnold Fast following a tornado in the east subdivision in Prattville, Ala., on Sunday. (By David Bundy, Montgomery Advertiser)

The mayor of a town near Montgomery, Ala., says a tornado has destroyed numerous homes and may have trapped victims in the wreckage.

The tornado caused significant damages in the town of Prattville, Ala., Mayor Jim Byard said.

The mayor added that the tornado struck the Overlook area in the city and a search began for any storm victims who may be trapped in the wreckage. Some 9,000 homes and businesses were without power.

Severe thunderstorms packing tornadoes and brief downpours swept the state, damaging homes and businesses in other counties.

The National Weather Service warned of tornado threats and 70 mph winds in areas including near Selma, Andalusia, and rural Coosa County in Alabama, as the storm system moved into Georgia.

Two homes were destroyed in Dallas County.

In Escambia County, near the Alabama/Florida border, two houses were destroyed and trees snapped in half by a possible tornado in the rural community, the weather service reported. No injuries were immediately reported.

In Covington County, Assistant Emergency Management Agency director Jeremie Shaffer in Andalusia said the storm damaged some structures on the west side of the county and downed some trees on U.S. 29. She said no injuries were reported.

Photo: Bystanders gather outside of a destroyed strip mall following a severe storm in Prattville, Ala., on Sunday. (By Mickey Welsh, Montgomery Advertiser)

A tornado watch was in effect until 8 p.m. Alabama time for the southeastern part of the state, but the storm stretched from Mobile to Huntsville.

In Wisconsin, freezing rain and snow fell across the southern two-thirds of the state, still weary from a major snowstorm that stranded hundreds of motorists and snarled travel for days.

Numerous crashes were reported, and authorities urged people to stay off roads. The weather service issued a blizzard warning for much of Iowa and Wisconsin, as well as flood warnings in parts of the two states.

The conditions forced closures of shopping malls, libraries and churches. Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama postponed or canceled campaign stops in DePere, Kaukauna, Madison and Wausau.

Heavy snow and slush closed the Kansas City International Airport for almost six hours, the longest closure in its 35-year history, authorities said. Dozens of flights were canceled.

The severe weather in the South comes on the heels of a tornado outbreak this month that killed more than 50 people in several states, including Alabama.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

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