Severe weather charges across Southeast again Sunday with damaging winds, hail
Storms on Sunday killed a person in North Carolina and caused extensive damage in the town of Athens, Alabama.
Tornadoes rip across the South with damages reported across 5 states
National Weather Service teams are out across multiple Southeast states assessing damage from tornadoes part of a severe weather outbreak that claimed at least three lives this weekend. FOX Weather's Brandy Campbell reports from Meadville, Mississippi where preliminary assessments found EF-2 tornado damage.
ATLANTA — A line of storms charged across the Southeast on Sunday, placing more than 40 million Americans under a renewed threat of tornadoes, damaging winds, hail and heavy rainfall in areas hard-hit by Hurricane Helene.
Sunday's severe weather threat comes after multiple tornadoes left a path of destruction across Texas, around the Houston area, on Saturday. Damage was also reported in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama over the weekend. At least three people were killed by the storms.
(FOX Weather)
The Southeast's tornado threat will continue throughout the day for parts of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, but the bulk of the storms had started to shift offshore by late Sunday afternoon.
(FOX Weather)
Sunday's storms result in another death
As severe thunderstorms moved through North Carolina, a tree fell on a vehicle along Highway 152 in Iredell County, killing one person inside, according to the Iredell County Sheriff's Office.
Severe weather was causing delays for travelers flying to and from Charlotte Douglas International Airport, with more than 500 delayed flights by Sunday morning, according to FlightAware.com.
On Sunday, power outages rose across the South and Southeast, with nearly 190,000 customers without power from Texas to North Carolina.
![Damage to Veterans Memorial Park in Athens, Alabama after storm damage on Dec. 29, 2024.]()
Image 1 of 9Damage to Veterans Memorial Park in Athens, Alabama after storm damage on Dec. 29, 2024. (City of Athens)
![Damage to Veterans Memorial Park in Athens, Alabama after storm damage on Dec. 29, 2024.]()
Image 2 of 9Damage to Veterans Memorial Park in Athens, Alabama after storm damage on Dec. 29, 2024. (City of Athens)
![Damage to Veterans Memorial Park in Athens, Alabama after storm damage on Dec. 29, 2024.]()
Image 3 of 9Damage to Veterans Memorial Park in Athens, Alabama after storm damage on Dec. 29, 2024. (City of Athens)
![Damage to Veterans Memorial Park in Athens, Alabama after storm damage on Dec. 29, 2024.]()
Image 4 of 9Damage to Veterans Memorial Park in Athens, Alabama after storm damage on Dec. 29, 2024. (City of Athens)
![Severe thunderstorm damage in Athens, Alabama on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (Image: City of Athens)]()
Image 5 of 9Severe thunderstorm damage in Athens, Alabama on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (Image: City of Athens) (City of Athens)
![Snapped trees near Woosley, Georgia on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024 after a line of severe storms moved through the area.]()
Image 6 of 9Snapped trees near Woosley, Georgia on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024 after a line of severe storms moved through the area. (Photo: Billy Heath) ( )
![Storm debris on Marion Street in Athens, Alabama.]()
Image 7 of 9Storm debris on Marion Street in Athens, Alabama. (Photo: City of Athens) ( )
![Storm damage in Meadville, Mississippi on Dec. 29, 2024.]()
Image 8 of 9Storm damage in Meadville, Mississippi on Dec. 29, 2024. ( )
![Storm damage in Meadville, Mississippi on Dec. 29, 2024.]()
Image 9 of 9Storm damage in Meadville, Mississippi on Dec. 29, 2024. ( )
Wind or possible tornado damage was reported outside the Atlanta metro region near Woosley, Georgia. The National Weather Service office in Atlanta/Peachtree City sent a damage survey team to assess the possible tornado destruction in southern Coweta and Fayette counties.
Cleanup was underway in Athens, Alabama, after a line of strong thunderstorms moved through the area west of Huntsville late Saturday, ripping down trees, signs and stoplights, video recorded by the city of Athens showed. The NWS Huntsville office found preliminary EF-1 tornado damage in Athens with maximum wind speeds of 100 mph.
Heavy rainfall forecast for Helene recovery area
In addition to the severe threat, this system brought the most rain to western North Carolina since Hurricane Helene's deadly flooding in September.
Some locations will were forecast to experience their highest two-day rainfall totals since Helene. Through Sunday, between 2 and 3 inches of rain was forecast across western North Carolina, with localized areas receiving between 3 and 5 inches.
(FOX Weather)