National Weather Service: 13 dead as tornadoes march across country

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<img src="tornado-noaa.jpg" alt="National Weather Service-13 dead as tornadoes march across country">

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ind. — A powerful severe storm system moved across the United States on Friday, with a slew of apparent tornadoes from Alabama to Indiana contributing to at least 13 deaths.

National Weather Service meteorologist John Gordon reported Friday afternoon the agency has about “half a dozen reports of tornadoes on the ground,” as well as reports of “significant damage” — stressing all the while that the worst may still be to come.

“This is an enormous outbreak that’s going on right now across Kentucky and the South,” Gordon said. “It’s crazy. It’s just nuts right here.”

At least eight fatalities are being reported in Indiana and another 5 in Kentucky.

Clark County Sheriff’s Department Maj. Chuck Adams “said the town of Marysville is ‘completely gone.’

Adams also said there was “extensive damage to the local high school,” Henryville Junior-Senior High School, but no injuries.

“We’ve got total devastation in the north-central part of the county (and) widespread damage from the west to the east,” Adams said. “We are inundated with calls.”

Once again Mother Nature has dealt harshly with Indiana. Our every thought is with those we’ve lost and those who have suffered.

“We’ve learned so much and improved so much in disaster preparedness, warning systems and responder communications but still we are no match for Mother Nature at her worst.

“We’re hopeful that we know the full extent of the damage but it will be tomorrow before we can give a final report with any confidence.”

Aerial footage from CNN affiliate WLKY showed structures seemingly torn to shred and large swaths of trees knocked down in Henryville, about 20 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky.

This all is because of a potent and widespread system that has spawned several tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service — including at least one in Indiana’s Posey County at approximately 1:43 p.m. CT (2:43 p.m. ET), plus two twisters that touched down in northeast Alabama.

In Tennessee, severe weather was responsible for critical injuries of as many as eight people in the cities of Harrison and Oolteweh, officials there said.

The storm brought golf-ball-size hail, strong winds and rain into the two northeast Alabama counties before continuing on a northeastward path into Tennessee.

Between 40 and 50 homes in Hamilton County, Tennessee, have “significant damage that we know about,” the county’s Chief of Emergency Management Bill Tittle told CNN.

Reporting from that area near Chattanooga, CNN’s Rob Marciano observed a continuous stretch of damage about 200 yards wide that ripped what had been brick and mortar homes down to their foundations.

Tittle said that there are 24 reported injuries and, while none of those appear to be life-threatening, he acknowledged that “we have not reached all the homes.”

“We obviously have lots of debris, homes with roof damage, streets that are impassable that we have crews cutting down trees with chainsaws in order to get emergency vehicles through, and as of now our crews are just going door-to-door on foot,” said Amy Maxwell, Hamilton County, Tennessee, emergency management spokeswoman.

Maxwell later said six to 10 people were at local hospitals after suffering injuries, and a triage area was set up at Ooltewah High School to treat patients on the scene.

From KDAF-TV Dallas Fort Worth

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Lincoln Cahill

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