A tornado in Alabama was identified as "large and extremely dangerous" left people with severe injuries and significant damage throughout Jefferson County
"The National Weather Service (NWS) in Birmingham, Alabama, said the severe storm hit Jefferson Co.'s Fultondale area, caused "major damage in the area. Authorities will inspect the damage to assess the tornado's intensity," the NWS wrote.
The resulting storm knocked out energy and created debris that blocked the area's roads. A Hampton Inn, Comfort Inn, and Suites were severely damaged in Fultondale and a Chile restaurant, WBRC reported.
READ: Trump's Impeachment Trial Defense to be Lead by South Carolina Lawyer Butch Bowers
Tornado killed 1 person and injured several
Monday night, a confirmed tornado tore through Fultondale, killing one person, injuring several others seriously, and leaving a path of devastation in its wake.
Fultondale Mayor Larry Holcomb said that the storm struck the northern city of Jefferson County at 10:30 p.m. - After touching down near Interstate 65, cut a quarter-mile wide path.
It traveled northeast toward Fultondale High School, where significant damage was caused. Multiple companies were ruined, including Hurst Towing and the Hampton Inn, and much of all in between.
Jim Coker, director of the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), told CNN that injuries ranging from minor to severe had been reported with victims transported to area hospitals. He didn't say how many people had been wounded. A house collapsed on a family, but their condition is not known at this stage, Coker said. According to Coker, no deaths have been confirmed, and search, and rescue operations are still underway.
Five heavy rescue teams from the Jefferson County fire department respond to the Fultondale and Center Point areas, Coker said. According to Coker, Jefferson County EMA uses a drone and helicopters to map the direction of the storm along with the NWS.
ALSO READ: Trump Offers Washington DC Hotel To National Guards Kicked Out of the US Capitol
At Fultondale City Hall, a command post was set up. To aid evacuation to the victims from stranded homes, heavy rescue units from several surrounding agencies were on site. Authorities said it would possibly take all night for house-to-house searches and rescue.
Trees were toppled by the wind, power lights dropped, and cars overturned. According to the Jefferson County Emergency AgencyAlabama, the storm trail traveled from Fultondale to Center Stage, damaging the ground.
A tornado alert for Jefferson County, Alabama, was released Monday night, NWS Birmingham said in a tweet. As the line of storms travels northeast through the state, the agency has since issued tornado warnings and watches for multiple counties.
For portions of Alabama and Georgia, a tornado warning remains in place. The storm line is part of two more extensive networks that provide winter weather warnings for more than 100 million people.
Via Tuesday night, the storm will dump heavy snow from the Central Plains to the mid-Atlantic Coast. Throughout Iowa, the deepest snow will pile up. The Weather Prediction Center says some of the snow will be very heavy, with rates of up to 2 inches an hour.
