Just got in from watching some basketball, and turned on the television to see the Weather Channel’s continuing severe weather coverage. It has been a destructive and deadly night across the Southeastern United States with a preliminary report of 101 tornadoes touching down in that region. As of right now, there are 32 people dead with several areas reporting heavy damage from a number of twisters.

The wedge tornado that struck near Tuscaloosa produced catastrophic damage, and has continued to march across Alabama into Birmingham, and onward toward Rome, Georgia. Fifteen people have already died from this particular tornado. Tuscaloosa is reporting catastrophic damage. A hotel has collapsed in Rome, Georgia with multiple fatalities. Meanwhile, in Northern Alabama in places such as Huntsville, there is another tornado producing major structural damage, power outages, and churning out debris.

Another twister has produced devastation and death in the Northwestern county of Catoosa in Georgia. Homes have been damaged there with a massive loss of life. Authorities there have requested for a mass casualty trailer. More tornadoes have been reported in Tennessee and Virginia, especially in the area of Bristol, Tennessee on Interstate 81. Severe weather watches are also in effect in the Mid-Atlantic including Central Jersey until early Thursday morning.

The day began with a powerful line of storms generating a bow echo containing straight line winds of 70 to 80 miles per hour in Alabama that left some six people dead. It is shaping up to be one of the worst severe weather outbreaks in Alabama history. Keep in mind that Alabama including the Tuscalossa area had a severe weather outbreak a little less than two weeks ago. These storms continue to barrel eastward into Georgia, and may threaten the Atlanta metro area.