Tornadoes slice paths across Alabama, Indiana and Tennessee The Weather Channel's Maria Larosa talks with msnbc's Thomas Roberts about a new round of tornados aimed at the Midwest and South. By Miranda Leitsinger, msnbc.com Updated at 3 p.m. ET: A "very large super-cell" of tornadoes touched down in northern Alabama early Friday, damaging homes, a prison and a high school and leaving at least four injured, emergency and weather officials said, as reports emerged of twisters striking in Indiana and Tennessee. The damage in Alabama covered a 4- to 5-mile swath in northern Madison County, Paige Colburn, emergency management officer at the Huntsville-Madison County Emergency Management Agency, told msnbc.com. "The reason that it is so wide is because we're not talking about one tornado, we're talking about a very large super cell that spawned several smaller tornadoes and there's possibly one very large one in there, too," she told msnbc.com. The Alabama Emergency Management Agency said two tornadoes appeared to have touched down in Limestone and Madison Counties, citing confirmation from the Huntsville National Weather Service. Four people with injuries were taken to a local hospital, but their conditions were unknown, Chris Reed, another emergency management officer at the local emergency management agency, told msnbc.com. Homes have been damaged in four communities - Harvest, Meridianville, Hazel Green and New Market - and some 30,000-35,000 people were without power, Reed said. One shelter is open. We've got crews out doing search and rescue. That's our priority before we get into damage assessment because we're expecting ... a new tornado watch and another round of severe warning (at) any time," he added. Buckhorn High School sustained roof and window damage, but no injuries were reported, the state agency said in a statement. Part of the roof of Buckhorn Middle School was blown away, but all children were safe, Geraldine Tibbs, a Madison County Board of Education spokeswoman, told NBC News. Several homes also sustained moderate to extensive damage, the state agency noted, but did not specify if that was for both counties. Two back-to-back tornadoes also struck neighboring Limestone County Friday morning, local emergency officials told The Huntsville Times. A training building at a local prison - Limestone Correctional Facility, which houses 2,100 inmates - was destroyed by a tornado, and two dorms and two other buildings suffered roof damage, Brian Corbett, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, told NBC. No one was hurt, and the prison was operating on generator power. The state has sent extra security, Corbett added. Warnings for many states Alabama was one of a number of states that forecasters warned may experience severe storms and twisters on Friday. The Weather Channel was reporting midday that tornadoes appeared to be touching down in Tennessee and in Indiana. We're forecasting an outbreak of strong tornadoes and damaging wind both today and into the overnight hours over a large portion of the eastern United States. The area of highest risk is focused on southern Illinois, southern Ohio, much of Kentucky and Middle Tennessee," Russell Schneider, director of the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, said at a phone news conference. In those areas there's potential for violent long-track tornadoes during the afternoon and evening hours. A combination of strong winds and warm moist air "reminiscent of late spring" were fueling the formation of storms into strong super-cell thunderstorms that had the potential for the extreme tornadoes, he said. The threat extends into a broader area that's not quite as high risk but still a "major severe weather event," including the potential for strong tornadoes across southern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, portions of West Virginia, through much of Tennessee into the southeast, including Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, Schneider said. "This is going to be a very extensive severe weather outbreak, including the potential for strong, violent tornadoes," he added, noting it was the fifth "high risk" -- their highest threat level -- they've issued during the month of March since 2000. This means they're very serious situations and people should be prepared for severe weather conditions in their local areas. The storms will be moving very rapidly they're developing at this time, particularly centered - some storms in Alabama and southeastern states - other storms have already developed in Illinois," Schneider said. A particularly dangerous tornado watch has been issued for southern Illinois, parts of southeast Missouri, extreme western Kentucky and southwest Indiana. There, dangerous conditions are ongoing at this time. Storms will be moving -- almost 50 to 60 miles an hour -- so severe weather conditions will change rapidly at any given location," he said. The severe weather risk area is over some urban but also "very dense rural populations," so "the risk to property and people is substantial on a widespread outbreak of this variety," Schneider said. March is the start of the core of severe weather season over much of the country, Schneider said. As far as any trends for the season, certainly this has been a very active week or two, but we really can't make any judgment on the full extent of the season at this time. 'God, please don't let there be another' Kera Wise was one of those picking up the pieces after a tornado struck Harrisburg, Ill., early Wednesday.