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Diana Davis looks for family photos after a tornado tore through Wednesday, as she sifts through the rubble of her father-in-law's home in Lutts, Tenn., Thursday, Dec. 24. At least 14 people were killed in as spring-like storms mixed with unseasonably warm weather and spawned rare Christmastime tornadoes in the U.S. South, officials said Thursday.(Photo: Larry McCormack/The Tennessean)
LUTTS, Tenn.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—Residents are picking up the pieces after a series of storms slammed parts of the South and Midwest on Wednesday,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>leaving at least fourteen people dead amid torrential downpours, damaging winds and several tornadoes.
"My ears are still ringing,”<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Tony Goodwin said Thursday as he recounted how<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>seven family members ran for a homemade storm shelter right before a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>tornado hit Perry County, Tenn.
“I had my grandson under my arm, everybody got in but my sister-in-law. I was yelling, ‘Come on,’” Goodwin said. “I got in, and as soon as I picked up the beam and set it across (the shelter door), you could hear it."
This small community in southern Middle Tennessee was one of the hardest hit Wednesday night when a wave of deadly tornadoes swept through the region. The storm killed six people in Tennessee and tore through houses and businesses along a path that stretched across several<span style="color: Red;">*</span>counties.
Tony Goodwin talks about his harrowing night as he and seven of his family members hid from a tornado in a homemade storm shelter in Perry County. Thursday Dec. 24, 2015, in Linden, Tenn.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Larry McCormack / THE TENNESSEAN)
“Right now I am taking a breath,”<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Goodwin<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said. “I am glad to be alive.”
Unseasonably warm weather Wednesday helped fuel<span style="color: Red;">*</span>twisters from Arkansas to Michigan. The line of springlike storms continued<span style="color: Red;">*</span>east Thursday, dumping heavy<span style="color: Red;">*</span>rains that flooded roads and caused a mudslide in Georgia.
In addition to the six deaths in Tennessee, authorities confirmed deaths in Mississippi and one<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in Arkansas.
After a string of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>tornadoes struck Mississippi on Wednesday, killing seven and injuring more than 40 people,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Gov. Phil Bryant issued a state of emergency Thursday. Several people remain missing and search-and-rescue efforts are ongoing, according to local officials.
An EF-3 tornado with winds of up to 157 mph leveled homes<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and several nearby buildings in downtown Lutts, according to the National Weather Service. The walls of the post office there were broken apart like a shattered dinner plate, with pieces of brick scattered around the mailboxes and into the neighboring field.
Meteorologists have confirmed that at least one other Tennessee tornado touched down Wednesday night in Perry County, where husband and wife Antonio Gomez Yazaguirre, 70, Ann Yazaguirre, 69, died when their home was destroyed. That tornado had winds of up to 110 mph.
USA TODAY
Christmas Day forecast: Mild East, soggy South, cold West
A third tornado was confirmed Thursday night at the Wayne County state line in Tenn., according to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the National Weather Service.
Meteorologists say more storms and heavy rain are on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the way throughout the Christmas weekend in Tennessee.
On Thursday, the Weather Service said,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"widespread shower and thunderstorm activity" are<span style="color: Red;">*</span>expected to move into the area early Christmas morning, with<span style="color: Red;">*</span>showers and storms expected to continue<span style="color: Red;">*</span>throughout the day.
Between 1 and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>3 inches of rain could fall by Saturday morning, with higher totals possible in southern Middle Tennessee,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the statement said. Meteorologist Scott Unger said some flash flooding might occur.
Gallery: Survivors pick up the pieces after severe weather<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
"We're going to be very wet over the next four or five days," Unger said.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"We want everybody to continue to be weather aware going into the first part of next week."
Contributing: Therese Apel<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mollie Bryant<span style="color: Red;">*</span>of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The Clarion-Ledger
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