March Comes in like a Lion with Massive Storms

The weather today is making headlines and storms sweep across North America. As severe weather systems sweep across the United States there is sever weather across the country. There are tornadoes from the central states down to the Florida panhandle. Roads are closed in the central plains states. The north and eastern states are experiencing hail, rain and snow.

Tornado Hits Alabama
Alabama officials say that at least thirteen people are dead after a tornado struck an Alabama community, making a direct hit on a high school.

The speaker of the Alabama House also said that five people have died at Miller's Ferry, where another apparent tornade tore into mbily homes, cutting a 2 milw swath through the park., per NBC News reports.

Enterprise, Alabama has been hit by a tornado that has torn the roof off of the High School. According to CNN reports, a reporters from the Enterprise Ledger Newspaper was on the scene. The unconfirmed reports were that the high school suffered about 25% damage. There were no deaths known. There were some minor injuries. Police have reported, per NBC News, that there are still students inside the devastated school. Three students have been airlifted out for medical care. There are reports of injuries..

Parts of several Midwestern states were under tornado watches or warnings. The tornado warnings and watches extended as far south as the Gulf Coast in the Florida panhandle.

A spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Chris Vaccaro, said that the storm will bring dangerous blizzards to the north and probable tornado's to the south. "We've just begun what could be a long afternoon of severe weather" he said, as quoted by AFP, , "We're facing an ongoing severe weather outbreak with a high potential for tornadoes encompassing the center and lower portions of the Mississippi Valley into the southeast, so we're talking about a good chunk of the central and southeastern US".

Chris Vaccaro, spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, said that the storm was likely to bring a high number of tornadoes,

Severe weather is pounding the the lower Ohio Valley and Mid Mississippi Valley. This storm is particularly dangerous. The areas most affected by this storm system are Alabama, Central and Southern Georgia and Eastern Mississippi. Surrounding the high risk area, there is a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms across much of the lower half of the Mississippi Valley and Gulf/South Coastal States.

Weather headlines nationally include:

Blizzards, Snow Hit Midwest Plains States
A winter storm hit the Plains and Mideast with heavy, wet snow and blizzard conditions Thursday. Some areas anticipate as much as two feet of snow by Friday.

7 Year Old Killed in Missouri Tornado
Caufield, Missouri
Tornado's swept through southern Missouri at Dawn on Thursday. The tornado's damaged homes and businesses. A child was killed in the tornado in Howell County. Here mother, father and two brothers were injured when a tornado hit their mobile home in a rural wooded area near West Plains, according to Howell Country Sheriff Robbie Crites, according to Associated Press. Sheriff Crites identified the victim as Elizabeth Croney.

Blizzards Close Roads in Plains States
The second big winter storm to hit the central United States in less than a week has slammed parts of Nebraska and Iowa with blizzard like conditions. on Thursday. Blinding snow has closed highways in the Midwest. Snow piled up at a rate of 2 inches an hour, closing Interstate 80, a major transcontinental highway in southeast Nebraska, west of Omaha.

More than 50 counties were under blizzard warning in neighboring western Iowa. Interstate 29 was closed in Iowa from near Omaha north to Sioux City at the South Dakota line.

Schools were closed across southern Minnesota as snow piled up.

O'Hare Cancels Flights due to Weather
Damaging hailstorms struck several states. According to Reuter's New reports, "Foul weather in other cities snarled air traffic in Chicago, where 250 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport.

Heavy Snow Predicted in the Northeast on Friday
The Weather Channel reported that heavy snow is predicted to hit parts of northern New England on Friday and Friday night, where 1 foot or snow may fall as the storm moves east. The bigger cities to the south, Boston and New York, should escape with only rain.