National Weather Service crews will assess damage Saturday morning in southwest Birmingham and east Tuscaloosa, locations where tornadoes possibly touched down Christmas Day as storms roared through the state.
“We know there were two possible tornadoes, but we will not for sure until we look at the damage,” said Jason Holmes, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office in Chilton County.
The storms struck Birmingham around 5:30 p.m., bringing strong wind and torrential rain. In southwest Birmingham around Jefferson Avenue, at least two homes were destroyed and several others were damaged, according to Mayor William A. Bell Sr., who visited the hard-hit area.
“At least one person was taken to the hospital with injuries. Crews will be checking the damage throughout the night and going door-to-door,” he said. In addition to the storm damage, the mayor said he is also concerned about flooding throughout the city.
A shelter was set up at New Hope Baptist Church on Cleburn Avenue for people impacted by the storm.
At 9 p.m. 10,000 Alabama Power Company customers were without power, according to the company’s Twitter feed.