Storms batter Southeast

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Strong winds in northwestern Alabama overturned a mobile home yesterday and an apparent tornado damaged a Mississippi shopping mall as a line of severe storms swept across the Southeast.

No injuries were reported, but forecasters warned that the weather could get worse as temperatures climbed in the afternoon.

In northwestern Alabama, there were no confirmed reports of tornadoes, but winds gusting up to 60 mph also damaged a house and a building in a rural area, said George Grabryan, emergency management director in Lauderdale County. At least 15 Alabama school systems released students early.

Portions of northwestern Alabama and a number of northeastern Mississippi counties were under tornado watches or warnings until midafternoon yesterday.

Authorities received reports of fallen trees and debris across northeastern Mississippi, and officials were dispatched to check out the damage at a shopping mall in Tupelo, Miss., about 160 miles northeast of Jackson. Trees tangled with power lines, crisscrossing one road near a fast-food restaurant and a grocery store.

A motel manager driving to work saw that the area had been hit by severe weather.

“There were trees down and stuff blown around on Gloster, the main street near the mall,” said Dimple Patel, who works about two miles from the Barnes Crossing Mall. “All the lights were out, and store people were hanging around outside — even people at the gas station.”

The sheriff’s office there said officers spotted a possible tornado moving in and out of the clouds, possibly containing debris. Weather officials have not yet confirmed that the storm was a twister.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation said several buildings at a district office in Tupelo were damaged. The agency reported downed trees, roof damage and no electricity.

Forecasters said strong winds along the coast could generate rip currents along the beaches, but the main threats were hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes. The system was expected to stall over northern Alabama, giving much of the eastern part of the state a 20 percent chance of rain.

The low-pressure weather system struck Oklahoma a day earlier, weather officials said.