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Shocking photos show Alabama storms COLLAPSE gas station, overturn vehicles

With wind gusts up to 70 mph, a possible tornado may have hit a gas station in Alabama which caused it to collapse

Tornadoes, thunderstorms and flooding battered Alabama on Thursday leaving thousands of households in the state without electricity. A gas station in Fairfield suffered significant damage as its canopy was mangled from the storms, while in the Birmingham metropolitan area, a tree slammed into a home in Hueytown.

A severe weather threat was issued by the state — the winds were assumed to be blowing at speeds as high as 70mph.

In Leeds, a large tree fell onto a mobile home on Cedar Avenue, trapping a couple inside. Leeds Mayor David Miller said one of those people was able to get out immediately, but the other had to wait on first responders. Both escaped with only minor scratches, according to several media reports.

Resident Chris McClendon said he arrived home to find the tree on his neighbors’ mobile home. “I got out of the truck and I could hear the woman screaming for help,” McClendon told WBRC-TV.

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The Birmingham-area National Weather Service office said it would be sending crews out Friday to survey the damage. 

As per PowerOutrage.us, a large number of homes and businesses, almost 25,000, went on without any power. In Mississippi, there were around 10,000 power outrages. In Huntsville, Alabama, the winds gusts were reported to be running at 35-50 mph and caused trees to be knocked down. Looking at this, schools in Birmingham planned to send all their students home early on Thursday afternoon, February 17.

Snowfall exceeding two inches per hour and winds reaching 40 miles per hour could severely reduce visibility on roadways, with the heaviest snowfall of up to 8 inches in the region that stretched from western Oklahoma to northern Maine, the weather service said. Further north, 13,000 were without power in Tennessee; 14,000 in Kentucky; 16,000 in darkness in Ohio and 18,000 in Pennsylvania. 

There were reports of multiple tractor trailers being overturned on I-22 and in Adamsville. Officials said one 18-wheeler flipped over due to heavy winds. At least two tractor trailers overturned on I-22 near mile marker 81.

The Alabama Emergency Management Agency instructed people to have all loose outdoor objects secured and said they should have a safety plan in place. "Make sure you have at least two methods to receive severe weather warnings, NOT including an outdoor warning siren.  Know where your safe place is before severe weather strikes," the agency said. 

New York has been warned to expect gusts of up to 55mph, and an inch of rainfall in a short space of time. New York State Governor Kathy Hochul issued an advisory Thursday night warning locals to take precautions, according to Daily Mail.