Tornado Watch In The South: After Multiple Deaths Reported, Severe Weather May Continue

UPDATE: 4:30 p.m. EST -- Strange travel conditions across the United States – including unseasonably warm temperatures in the Northeast and tornadoes running through areas of the South and Midwest – have created problems for Christmas Eve travelers. Flights have been delayed from Louisiana to New York City, with Delta Air Lines being the most affected – nearly a quarter of all its mainline flights have been delayed in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported.

More than 2,000 flights have been delayed across the U.S. and more than 300 completely canceled Christmas Eve. Tornadoes swept through the South and Midwest on Wednesday, with the latest death toll count reaching 10 people Thursday afternoon, the Associated Press reported.

Search parties looked for missing people Thursday and helped clear the rubble left in the wake of the tornadoes. The threat of more twisters subsided Thursday, as heavy rain and thunderstorms reportedly hit down in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

UPDATE: 12:04 p.m. EST -- Nine people are believed to have died during the tornadoes that raged through Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee Wednesday, ABC News reported. About 24 tornadoes made their way through states in the South and Midwest, including Alabama, Michigan and Indiana.

Some residents of hard-hit areas spent Christmas Eve attempting to aid others dealing with the aftermath of the storms as much as they could. One resident of Linden, Tennessee, wearing attire symbolizing the Christmas season helped cut up fallen trees near a home where two people died as a result of the extreme weather.

"I figured I'd come down here with my hat," Tennessee resident Chris Shupiery told the Associated Press. "I've been wearing it for Christmas, and this was just the right thing to do, come help a family in need. Suit up, try to cheer people up, and try to make them feel a little better with Christmas coming around."

The Red Cross in Mississippi has dispatched emergency-response vehicles to heavily damaged areas and also has workers providing relief supplies and shelter, according to the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi.

Original Story:

While northern reaches of the U.S. are enjoying almost-record-breaking warmth this holiday season, officials in southern areas of the country are attempting to determine how much damage was wrought by the killer tornadoes that swept through their region. The tornadoes are believed to have caused at least seven deaths this week, and some parts of the nation are still not quite clear of severe weather.

A tornado watch was in effect until Thursday morning in areas of the South, including southeastern Alabama as well as southwestern and central Georgia, according to Weather.com. Flood watches were also issued in parts of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, as well as in proximity to the Washington-Baltimore metroplex.

Some areas in the South may see severe weather Christmas Day. Severe storms could continue from northwestern Georgia to eastern Louisiana and Texas. After the storms subside, high temperatures are expected in some cities, such as Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Bad weather hit Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi and Tennessee Wednesday, with more than 20 tornadoes reported to have torn through the region, Reuters reported. Dozens of homes and other buildings were either damaged or destroyed in Mississippi, where at least three people have been confirmed dead.

Multiple twisters made their way through Tennessee, where three people were reported killed, including a 7-year-old boy. Officials in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee are still looking for people reported missing as a result of the storms Wednesday.

“I’m looking at some horrific damage right now,” said Bill Luckett, the mayor of Clarksdale, Mississippi, according to USA Today. “Sheet metal is wrapped around trees; there are overturned airplanes; a building is just destroyed.”

In Arkansas, an 18-year-old woman was killed when high winds caused a tree to fall on her house. The woman’s 1 1/2-year-old sister was also in the house at the time, but rescue workers pulled the toddler to safety.