Four killed in Alabama as severe storms hit US South

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Alabama's governor said four people were killed in a building in an area hit by severe weather as a heavy storm system pounded the U.S. South with rain, hail and strong winds on Monday. "All severe hazards will be possible including damaging winds and tornadoes, especially across portions of southeast Louisiana and central and southern Mississippi through southern Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle," the NWS said. "There has been no widespread damage," said Ray Coleman, a spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, which said there were nearly 20,000 customers without electricity in the state due to the storm system. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued tornado watches stretching from Louisiana to Florida and flash flood watches for several states in that area. The federal Storm Prediction Center listed the incident on its website as a possible tornado.
A powerful storm system hits the southern United States, resulting in four deaths in Alabama and severe damage across several states.