County escapes brunt of deadly Alabama tornado outbreak

Published 1:45 pm Friday, January 13, 2023

Local aftermath from the unseasonably stormy weather that rolled through the state Thursday was far less severe than the reported tornado that claimed as many as seven lives farther to the south in central Alabama.

Cullman Emergency Management Agency director Tim Sartin said straight-line winds and at least one reported structural lightning strike created temporary hazards in Cullman County as the region-spanning line of storms moved across the state Jan. 12. But, he added, there were no local reports of injury, loss of life, or widespread property damage.

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“Most of what we saw was trees downed in different areas,” said Sartin. “We had a tree that fell on a house near Baileyton, and some other reports of trees down at Hanceville. A tree also fell across the railroad tracks, but it was quickly cleared away. A piece of equipment was hit by lightning at the Folsom Center in Cullman, but it did not cause any injury.”

Though no reported tornadoes struck Cullman County Thursday, the National Weather Service confirmed twisters in neighboring Lawrence and Winston counties. Stronger tornadoes cut a swath of destruction across the middle of the state, with one severely damaging the downtown area of Selma in Dallas County before claiming a death toll of at least seven people in Autauga County directly to the east, according to the Associated Press.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued a state of emergency for Autauga and five other central Alabama counties in the wake of the storm, extending condolences via a social media message: “My prayers are with their loved ones and communities,” wrote Ivey. “We are far too familiar with devastating weather, but our people are resilient. We will get through it and be stronger for it.”

In all, Thursday’s storms killed at least nine people in Alabama and Georgia, reported the AP, as responders continued to search the debris for survivors on Friday.