20 Dead After Christmas Week Tornado Outbreak Causes Flooding, Destruction

December 31,2015
State officials in Mississippi Tuesday confirmed an 11th tornado death from storms that ripped across that state and many others in the South and Midwest in the days leading up to Christmas. The news raises the overall death toll to 20 from last week's outbreak of severe weather and flooding.
At least 40 others were injured in the outbreak, which spawned tornadoes in 14 states between Monday, Dec. 21, and Friday, Dec. 25. Mississippi and Alabama saw the the worst of the storms, with tornadoes and severe flooding affecting both states.

The most widespread tornado activity affected a large swath of the South and Midwest on Wednesday, Dec. 23.
On Thursday, Dec. 24, heavy rain flooded parts of Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina causing mudslides and multiple road closures. It also shut down two stations on Atlanta's public rail system.
Widespread flooding struck parts of Mississippi and Alabama on Christmas Day, along with several tornadoes.
Here's a state-by-state rundown of the storm system's impacts.

Mississippi

Eleven people died and Governor Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency for seven counties in Mississippi after a severe weather outbreak Wednesday.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency announced the 11th death Tuesday, six days after the tornadoes. The MEMA news release cited the Coahoma County Coroner, saying a person injured in that county later died of their injuries in a Memphis hospital.
Six people were killed Wednesday evening in Benton County, two more in Marshall County, two in Coahoma County and one in Tippah County, according to MEMA. The deaths came exactly one year after tornadoes struck southern Mississippi on Dec. 23, 2014, killing five people.
The boy's family was taken in unknown condition to a nearby hospital. Anderson didn't release any preliminary cause of death, but did confirm it was related to the severe weather in the area.
The National Weather Service in Memphis said three separate tornadoes struck northern Mississippi Wednesday.
The first tornado, rated EF3 by the National Weather Service, tracked 63 miles through four Mississippi counties, starting near the town of Duncan and lifting east of Como. The EF3 damage and the two fatalities from this tornado occurred south and east of Clarksdale in Coahoma County.

A tornado touched down near Clarksdale, Mississippi on Wednesday.
((Guy Malvezzi))

According to one source debris from the tornado was found 136 miles away in Three Forks, Mississippi.

At least two injuries were confirmed from this tornado in Panola County, and the Sardis Fire Department reported several homes with major damage just north of town. According to the National Weather Service, at least 21 people were injured by the EF3 twister.
Shortly after that tornado lifted, another large tornado developed from the same parent thunderstorm. A National Weather Service storm survey determined that it reached EF4 strength, finding the most severe damage between the towns of Ashland and Canaan. The tornado was on the ground for 75 miles and reached a maximum width of 1,300 yards, or about three-fourths of a mile.
Six people were killed in Benton County, about 100 miles northeast of Clarksdale. Benton County Sheriff A.A. McMullen identified some of the victims as 69-year-old Max Croxton and his wife, 67-year-old Ellen Croxton, of Faulkner; 67-year-old William E. Crawford of Lamar; and 58-year-old Patricia G. Williams, also of Lamar.
According to the Benton County sheriff's dispatch, there was widespread damage, power outages, trees down and reports of people trapped in homes on Hamilton Road and Minor Bridge Road in Ashland. Dozens were reported injured in Benton County. Mississippi Highway 5 was closed.
Holly Springs coroner James Anderson told The Weather Channel that a 7-year-old boy was found dead in a van on Highway 7 outside Holly Springs in Marshall County, where homes were reported damaged and power lines downed. MEMA confirmed one other death in Marshall County along with one in Tippah County. The tornado then continued into Hardeman and McNairy counties of Tennessee.
The nine deaths from the EF4 tornado made it the deadliest single twister of 2015 in the United States, and the nation's deadliest individual tornado since an EF4 killed 10 in Winston County, Mississippi, on April 28, 2014. It was only the second EF4 tornado of 2015 in the U.S., following an April 9 twister that struck northern Illinois near Rochelle.
Significant flooding took hold of the state on Christmas Day when approximately 10 inches of rain fell on Monroe County. Rain led to 40 county road closures, 10 city street closures in Amory and three streets closed in Smithville. Authorities in Smithville and Amory reported that 20 people were rescued by boat or vehicle due to high water.

Tennessee

Six people died and the Tennessee Department of Agency (TEMA) declared a Level III State of Emergency after severe storms swept through the state. The deaths were confirmed by the Tennessee Department of Health.
Two fatalities were confirmed in Perry County: a 70-year-old male and a 69-year-old female. The Storm Prediction Center lists those as tornado-related deaths. In addition, the death of a 22-year-old male in Rhea County was also confirmed, as well as three deaths in Maury County: two 17-year-old males and one 16-year-old female.

According to a release from TEMA, a sewer treatment plant in Hamblen County overflowed into Turkey Creek and a sinkhole opened up in Jefferson County.

According to the Wayne County Sheriff's office, search and rescue crews went door to door to look for injured or people who may have been trapped in homes or structures. The sheriff's office also said the post office in Lutts, Tennessee was destroyed and several trees and power lines were down.

Alabama

A man and a boy died in a vehicle swept away by floodwaters in southeast Alabama on Christmas Day. Montgomery television station WSFA said 23-year-old Masiel Simon Billeda and 5-year-old Emiliano Hernandez were among six people in a vehicle swept into floodwaters in rural Coffee County. Four of the occupants were rescued. The child's body was found Saturday by rescuers, and Billeda's body was found Sunday.
Gov. Robert Bentley declared a state of emergency for all Alabama counties on Friday for flooding. Serious flooding continued to plague the state well into Christmas Day with the northern half of Alabama seeing the worst of it.
“Many parts of Alabama have experienced excessive rainfall and flooding is a major concern,” Bentley said. “By issuing a State of Emergency, I have directed all state agencies to take necessary actions to be prepared to respond to the anticipated flooding across Alabama."

In the Birmingham area, the NWS said that multiple water rescues took place near the Center Point and Pinson areas with some residents in the Pratt City neighborhood reporting over three feet of water in their homes. New Hopewell Baptist Church was set up as a shelter and command center in the city.
Dozens of roads across the state were closed after floodwaters made them completely impassable. Authorities in Jefferson County advised that all drivers remain off roadways until flooding ceased across the Birmingham metropolitan area.
Destructive tornadoes also tore through parts of the Birmingham area on Christmas night, damaging homes and businesses.
The NWS confirmed an EF2 tornado with maximum winds of 130 mph touched down briefly in Midfield, staying on the ground for less than a mile but damaging 50 homes. About 15 homes were completely destroyed by the short but powerful tornado, and several residents were trapped in their homes after it hit.
An EF0 was confirmed in Tuscaloosa County, in the town of Coaling. It had winds as high as 75 mph and was on the ground for about five miles.
Several people were hospitalized after the tornadoes touched down, officials said.

Indiana

A fast-moving line of storms delivered many 60- to 70-mph gusts Wednesday and at least one tornado spin-up embedded along the line in Johnson County in Greenwood.
According to the NWS, an EF1 tornado touched down near town Wednesday evening, leaving a damage track around a quarter of a mile wide and about a mile long, Indianapolis television station WTHR reported.
"We do have some damage back in the woods here with a lot of tall trees that are uprooted, and there's another house where the tornado started - that northwest section is totally collapsed and there are some other homes back in there that are damaged, but just some light roof damage," NWS meteorologist Dan McCarthy told the station.
(PHOTOS: Severe Storms Rock the South)
At the height of the storm, Indianapolis Power and Light reported around 5,000 customers without power.
Additional damage was reported in Noblesville, where at least 16 homes in the Twin Oaks subdivision were affected by high winds and heavy rain. The storms also flipped an unoccupied mobile home in Noblesville along State Road 32. The sheriff's department says it hadn't been occupied in years.

Arkansas

The 18-year-old woman killed in Pope County, Arkansas, was identified as Michaela Remus, said Pope County Sheriff Shane Jones late Wednesday evening.
The Pope County Sheriff's Office said in a press release that Remus was killed Wednesday morning when a tree fell on a home northeast of Atkins. Her 18-month-old sister, also inside the home, was rescued by emergency personnel.
The toddler was transported to a local hospital, but his or her condition is unknown. Three other people were inside the home and escaped unharmed.

Georgia

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for three north Georgia counties - Gilmer, Fannin and Pickens - after Christmas Eve storms produced serious flooding. 

Heavy rain flooded parts of Interstate 20 in Atlanta as well, along with two stations on the the city's public rail system Thursday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority spokeswoman Saba Long said there were delays on all rail lines, and the Garnett and West End stations were closed.
“Rail service between the Five Points and Oakland City stations has been terminated and a bus bridge has been established,” she said. “This will remain in effect until it is safe to resume rail service.”
The Cateret River is flooding parts of Ellijay, and swift water teams are assisting with rescues and evacuations, the NWS reports.

Two water rescues took place Thursday morning in the city of LaGrange in Troup County, where flooding washed out at least six roads and submerged three more.
Secondary roads in Fannin County flooded, and cabins along U.S. Highway 76 are beginning to take on water. At least one county road has been completely blocked by a mudslide.
According to the NWS, there was extensive flooding on a street in Carrollton, in Carroll County, with cars stuck in the water. Several roads in Pike County were flooded as well.
The storms also knocked out power around  the state. On Thursday morning Georgia Power reported outages affecting more than 6,000 customers.

Michigan

The NWS confirmed an EF1 tornado hit the Detroit suburb of Canton Wednesday evening, the first tornado ever recorded in Michigan in December. Rich Pollman, a warning coordination meteorologist for the NWS, said damage surveys indicate the twister was on the ground for only about two minutes, moving along at about 60 mph.
“The track of the tornado was about 2 miles long and about 100 yards wide,” Pollman told the Detroit News. “We...discovered a lot of uprooted pine trees. At least four buildings had sections of their roofs blown away. Once high winds enter a building, they look for a way out.”
According to the paper, the weather service said additional damage occurred near the intersection of Joy and Haggerty, where a metal roof was ripped off a gas station, but there were no reported injuries from the storm.
Consumers Energy reported Thursday afternoon that more than 8,000 customers in western and northern Michigan were without electricity after the storms toppled trees, utility poles and power lines.

South Carolina

The NWS confirmed an EF0 tornado about three miles southwest of Monck's Corner, north of Charleston, on Tuesday. The funnel only touched down for about a minute, and traveled less than half a mile on the ground.

Louisiana

A pair of tornadoes, both rated EF1, were confirmed Monday night in Rapides Parish as a line of storms moved through. The Lake Charles office of the NWS originally said three tornadoes were confirmed, but later said only two twisters hit the area Monday night.
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Both tornadoes packed maximum winds of 95 mph, and one flipped a trailer southeast of Calcasieu, injuring the man inside, according to the AP. The second tornado was in progress less than a mile from Louisiana State University's Alexandria campus, destroying one home and leaving several others with minor damage, the NWS reported.