Tornado brings injuries, damage to Hale County community

A Thursday afternoon tornado led to injuries and damaged property in Hale County.

The Tuscaloosa News is still awaiting word from county officials on the extent of damage, but media reports list one death, multiple injuries and several damaged homes in the Sawyerville community of Hale County.

Just off Alabama Highway 14 in Sawyerville, two pick-up trucks were swept off the roadway into a body of water and at least four homes – ranging from mobile homes to traditionally-built structures – sustained damage when the twister, estimated to be no more than 200 yards wide, came through the area.

“Everybody’s OK, thank God,” said Akron resident Tiffany Thomas, who had traveled to Sawyerville to assist relatives affected by the storm. “No one was injured, just a lot of damage.”

Sawyerville resident Gloria Doss said she was headed to a doctor’s appointment in Northport when she heard the severe weather threat on the radio.

“They said that the tornado was headed toward Sawyerville …, so I called my aunt, my mother, my uncle, and told them all to take cover,” Doss said. “By the time I got to Northport and the doctor’s office, my aunt called and said: ‘It has hit. … It hit here. It’s raining in my house.

“‘Your son’s mobile home is gone.’”

Additional reports list damage from the Black Warrior River to Hale County Road 50, but details remain unconfirmed.

Severe weather also impacts Elmore County

Storms on Thursday also affected central Alabama.

First responders were in northern Elmore County on Thursday evening searching for damage as the result of two possible tornadoes.

That section of the county had two separate tornado warnings, one around 5 p.m. and the other around 5:30 p.m., in the Lake Jordan and Titus areas.

At 6 p.m. there were reports of numerous trees down and debris scattered in the Little Weoka Creek and Slapout areas, said Sheriff Bill Franklin. There were no reports of injuries or major structural damage, but the sheriff said deputies were still answering calls in the area.

There were “sporadic” reports of trees down across the county, said Keith Barnett, director of the Elmore County Emergency Management Agency. In western Elmore County, near Deatsville and Holtville, there were reports of awnings blown from camper trailers on Marina and Lightwood roads.

A line of powerful thunderstorms rumbled through central Alabama touching off several tornado warnings beginning about 3:30 p.m. Autauga County went under a tornado warning about 4 p.m. There was one report of a tree down along Golson Road, said Ernie Baggett, director of the Autauga County EMA.

Marty Roney of the Montgomery Advertiser contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tornado brings injuries, damage to Hale County, Alabama community